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With a Bullet Hole Through It. 


Frontispiece. 


Grace Harlowe’s Overland 
Riders on the Great 
American Desert 


By 

JESSIE GRAHAM FLOWER, A.M. 

Author of The High School Girls Series, The College Girls Series 
Grace Harlowe’s Problem, Grace Harlowe’s Golden Summer, 
The Grace Harlowe Overseas Series, Grace 
Harlowe’s Overland Riders on the 
Old Apache Trail, etc., etc. 


9 ^ 

» 

t i 9 


Illustrated 


PHILADELPHIA 

HENRY ALTEMUS COMPANY 


COPYKIGHTED, 1921, BY 


Howabd E. Altemus 

X 


l^PR 2i 1921 


©C!,A611736 

/ 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Chapter I — When the Cowboys Laughed 11 

Picking out the ponies for the desert journey. The 
Overland girls meet Hi Lang. Grace selects an * ‘ out- 
law ’ ’ pony. * ‘ Don ’t reckon you ’ll be able to stick on 
him,” warns the guide. Grace Harlowe flings herself 
into the saddle, braced for the shock. 

Chapter II — An ‘‘Outlaw” Meets His Match 25 

Grace fights a stubborn battle with the vicious bronco. 
“Look out!” yells the guide. “Wall, ef thet don’t 
beat the Dutch ! ’ ’ exclaims a cowboy. A fainting 
conqueror. Cowboys voice their admiration of the 
Overland girl, and Bud offers his services in the event 
of trouble. 

Chapter III — A Thrilling Moment 36 

Enthusiastic plainsmen give Grace a Mexican lasso. 

The start for the desert. A rousing good-bye that 
ends in disaster. Elfreda and Grace accomplish a 
difficult feat. “Hang on! We’ll stop him!” The 
runaway bronco is thrown. ‘ ‘ They ’re caught ! ’ ’ 

Chapter IV — Ping Wing Makes a Discovery 47 

Elfreda confesses to being ‘ ‘ all mussed up, ’ ’ and gives 
first aid to an injured cowboy. The lure of the desert. 
Welcomed at their first camp by Ping Wing. The 
Chinaman as a songbird. The Overland Riders are 
aroused by cries and shots. 

5 


6 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Chapter V — Stalking a Mountain Mystery 59 

Ping uses a frying pan and a can of tomatoes as his 
weapons. Scouting for a mysterious foe. ^*Put up 
your hands ! I have you covered ! ’ * Grace Harlowe 
exchanges shots with her adversary, then suddenly 
sinks out of sight. 


Chapter VI — Into the Great Silence 66 

Hi stalks an unseen enemy and wings him. The hole 
in the mountain. * ^ The hound I He hit her ! I ’ll kill 
him for that ! ’ ’ Grace, unconscious, is carried into 
camp. ‘ ‘ This is not a gunshot wound ! ’ ’ Bullets are 
fired into the camp of the Overlanders. 


Chapter VII — The First Desert Camp 82 

Hi Lang shows his charges how to make a campfire on 
the desert. A water hole is found. * * Some one is try- 
ing to poison us ! ” groans Hippy. The guide warns 
the campers against scorpions. Emma Dean wishes 
she had gone to the seashore. 


Chapter VIII — Callers Drop In 89 

Amid scenes of desolation. ‘^A party of horsemen 
coming this way ! ’ ’ The Overland party prepares for 
trouble. Hippy is doused by a wild desert rider. 

‘ ‘ Get off my desert ! ’ ’ orders Lieutenant Wingate. 

The leader is kicked into a water hole. The battle 
at the water hole. 


Chapter IX — ^Pirates Get a Hot Reception 99 

Bullets fly fast in the desert camp. Grace protests 
against Hi Lang ’s order to shoot the attackers ’ ponies. 

Miss Briggs dresses the wounds of the victims. The 
guide reads danger signals in the sky. 


CONTENTS 


7 


PAGE 

Chapter X — When the Blow Fell •. 109 

^ * It ’s here ! ’ ’ mutters Hi Lang. Enveloped in a wild 
desert sandstorm. ‘ ^ Down ! Everybody down ! ^ ^ 
Overland girls nearly buried under drifting sands, and 
camp equipment is wrecked and blown away. “The 
water hole is lost ! * ’ announces the guide. 

Chapter XI — Facing a New Peril 118 

Ponies stray away in the storm. On the trail of the 
missing ones. The Overland girl makes a capture. 
Headed for Death Valley. Grace Harlowe is lost, but 
doesn’t know it. Hi Lang goes to the rescue and 
follows her trail. 


Chapter XII — A Bitter Disappointment 127 

“We must find water ! ’ ’ declares Hi Lang impressively. 

The search for a desert “tank” begun by the weary 
Eiders. Directed to smell for water. A thrilling dis- 
covery. Hopes dashed to earth. “Get back to your 
positions ! ’ ’ orders the guide. 


Chapter XIII — A Startling Alarm 137 

Supper is eaten without water or tea. Hi Lang 
shows the girls how to extract food and moisture 
from a cactus plant. * * This is heavenly ! ’ ’ gasps 
Emma, and wonders why they did not bring an artesian 
well. Shouts and screams suddenly disturb the camp. 


Chapter XIV — The Mysterious Horseman 147 

Hippy Wingate falls into the desert. A happy acci- 
dent. “Water! I smell it!” cries Grace. Signal 
shots are fired. A desert wanderer rides in begging 
for w^ater. A solitary horseman views the Overlanders 
from afar. 


8 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Chapter XV — The Guide Eeads a Desert Trail 157 

A stranger’s warning interests Hi Lang. Why the 
desert wanderer is always listening. More desert secrets 
revealed. Emma Dean dreams of snakes and things. 
Grace Harlowe is complimented. Hi tells the Over- 
landers what the mysterious horseman is. 

Chapter XVI — The Cross on the Desert 168 

Grace learns to throw the lasso. An unpleasant dis- 
covery. The mystery box at the foot of the cross. 
Emma is eager to see their find opened. ‘‘It rattles 
like gold,” declares Hippy. Lieutenant Wingate 
raises the cover of the mystery box. 

Chapter XVII — Another Mystery to Solve 176 

What the Overland Eiders found in the buried tin box. 

The map that aroused the curiosity of all. “ I ’ll bury 
the old thing,” declares Hippy. Hi Lang empties his 
rifle at the mysterious horseman, and later makes dis- 
coveries. 

Chapter XVIII — An Old Indian Trick 186 

The most trying day of all. Hi Lang utters a warn- 
ing. A cloud that aroused suspicion. Overlanders 
meet with a keen disappointment. “Folks, the tank 
is dry! The water hole has been tampered with!” 
announces the Overlanders’ guide. 

Chapter XIX — The Warning 193 

An all-night ride for Forty-Mile Canyon. The red 
star is Hi Lang’s beacon. Hippy Wingate mourns at 
missing a meal. Emma comes a cropper in a moun- 
tain stream. “The last spot made when the world 
was built.” In camp in the Specter Eange. Grace 
Harlowe ’s discovery. 


CONTENTS 


9 


PAGE 

Chaptee XX — Discoveries Come Fast 204 

Grace fires a shot through the black heart. The 
guide shoots a bear. The face in the waters. *‘This 
place gives me the creeps/’ declares Miss Briggs. 

The mystery of the rag doll. Grace and Elfreda sud- 
denly recognize their surroundings. 

Chapter XXI — A Sudden Disappearance 213 

The Overland camp pitched on a lucky spot. The 
wet imprint of a child’s foot found on a rock. “An- 
other dark mystery gone flooie ! ’ ’ declares Lieutenant 
Wingate. Grace Harlowe wades into the mountain 
stream and suddenly disappears. 

Chapter XXII — The Mad Hermit 221 

‘ ‘ Hurry ! Hurry I She may be drowning ! ’ ’ cries 
Elfreda Briggs. A remarkable scene behind the 
waterfall. The battle in the cave. Grace is roughly 
used. Hi Lang identifies the hermit. The camp of 
the Overlanders is attacked. 

Chapter XXIII — Besieged by Desert Pirates 229 

Hi wings a ruffian. Ping Wing moved to joy. Plans 
made to flank the attackers. Grace uses her lasso with 
good results. * ^ I ’ll hang on till the last minute ! ’ ’ 
gasps the Overland girl. With weapon at ready, 
Grace Harlowe crouches awaiting approaching men. 

Chapter XXIV — Conclusion 240 

A thrilling “hail.” Grace makes an important cap- 
ture. Hi and Bud go to her assistance. The guide 
makes a great discovery. Mountain and desert mys- 
teries unveiled. Lindy becomes the daughter of five 
mothers. Home I 


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GRACE HARLOWE’S OVER- 
LAND RIDERS ON THE 
GREAT AMERICAN 
DESERT 


CHAPTER I 

WHEN THE COWBOYS LAUGHED 

< < RACE HARLOWE, do you realize 
I T what an indulgent husband you 
have?^’ demanded Elfreda Briggs 

severely. 

‘‘Why, of course I do,^’ replied Grace, giving 
her companion a quick glance of inquiry. 
“Why this sudden realization of the fact on 
your partr^ 

“I was thinking of the really desperate jour- 
ney we are about to undertake — the journey 
across the desert that lies just beyond the 
Cactus Range you can see over yonder,’^ an- 
swered Miss Briggs, as she gazed out through 
the open window of their hotel at Elk Run, to 
11 


12 


GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


the distant landscape to which she had referred. 
‘^What I am curious about is how Tom ever 
came to consent to your attempting such an ad- 
venture. ’ ^ 

presume he really would have made seri- 
ous objection had it not been for the fact that he 
had signed up for that forestry contract in 
Oregon. Tom knew that I would have a lonely 
summer at home, and, I believe, deep down in 
his heart, felt that were he to deny me the 
pleasure of this trip, I might break my neck 
driving my car. You see, since I drove an am- 
bulance in France I do not exactly creep along 
the roads with my spirited little roadster. ’ ^ 

^‘He did not object to the trip then?’’ 

‘‘Well, he did threaten to balk when I told 
him that we Overlanders had planned to ride 
horseback across the Great American Desert, 
starting from Elk Run, Nevada. However, he 
listened to reason. Tom is such a dear,” re- 
flected Grace. 

“Yes, reason in the form of Grace Harlowe 
Gray,” nodded Elfreda under standingly. 
“Should I ever have the misfortune to possess 
a husband I hope he may be as amenable to 
reason. Where is Tom, by the way?” 

“He has gone out with Hippy Wingate to 
look for one Hiram Lang, known hereabouts as 
Hi Lang, the man who is to act as our guide and 


GKEAT AMERICAN DESERT 13 


protector across the desert. He is Mr. Fair- 
weather ^s cousin, you will recall, and my one 
great hope is that he may prove to he as fine a 
character as the man who piloted us over the 
Old Apache Trail last summer. ’ \ 

sincerely hope, for our sake, that he knows 
his business, nodded Elfreda Briggs. 

Where did you leave the girls questioned 
Grace. 

left Emma Dean, Anne Nesbit and Nora 
Wingate at the general store where they were 
selecting picture cards of wild west scenes to 
send to the folks back home. By the way, 
when does Tom leave for Oregon?^’ 

^‘To-night. I wish it were possible for him 
to go with us, knowing that it would prove an 
interesting experience for him, but now that he 
is out of the army he feels that he must get to 
work without loss of time. Tom now has a 
large family to look after — ^Yvonne and my own 
little self. ’ ’ 

should say that, after fighting Bolshevists 
in Russia for the better part of a year, the 
desert would be a rather tame experience for 
him,^’ observed Miss Briggs, ^‘Of course he 
cannot be blamed for desiring to get to work. 
I feel the same way about myself, but since my 
return from France my law practice has been 
about what it was while I was serving my conn- 


14 


GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


try on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean — 
nothing at all — so I might as well he on the 
desert as in my office/’ 

‘‘Your practice will come back, Elfreda. 
Don’t worry, but in the meantime try to have 
the best kind of a time and see what happens 
this fall. I hear Tom’s step.” 

A knock followed the brisk step in the hall- 
way, and Grace’s husband entered. Elfreda 
rose, but Grace held out a hand as a signal that 
her friend was not to leave. 

“Well, Tom dear, did you find him!” ques- 
tioned Grace. ^ 

“Oh, yes. This town isn’t so large that one 
can well miss finding any one. Your man. Hi 
Lang, is getting the ponies into the corral and 
you girls are to go out there and make your 
selections. ’ ’ 

“Did Mr. Lang say why he had not called 
here to see us?” asked Grace. 

“No, he didn’t say much of anything. He is 
not of the saying kind. I suppose he expected 
you to look him up. Besides, he is very busy 
getting ready for you, I could see that. If you 
are ready we will go over to the corral now. ’ ’ 

“Where did you leave Hippy?” asked Miss 
Briggs. 

“Talking horse with the owner of the 
ponies,” Grace’s husband informed her, whereat 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 15 


both girls smiled understandingly, knowing 
quite well that Hippy Wingate was posing as an 
expert on horses, whereas about all the knowl- 
edge he possessed in that direction had been 
gained from the ride over the Apache Trail 
during the previous summer. 

Tom led the two girls to the corral at the ex- 
treme edge of the little western village. Anne, 
Emma and Nora already had found their way 
there and were watching the wranglers, as the 
men who catch up the ponies are called, roping 
broncos and leading them out for the inspection 
of Lieutenant Wingate and the guide. 

‘‘My, but they are a lively bunch,’’ exclaimed 
Miss Briggs. 

The roped ponies were bucking and squealing 
and biting and kicking. A suffocating gray 
cloud of alkali dust hung over the corral, and, 
altogether, the scene was not only exciting, but 
it stirred feelings of alarm in some of Grace 
Harlowe’s Overland Riders. 

“Surely, Grace, you girls aren’t going to ride 
those wild animals!” protested Tom Gray. 

“Judging from the performances I have just 
witnessed, I am inclined to think we are not,” 
replied Grace whimsically. “Which is Mr. 
Lang!” 

“The man with his hat off leading the pony 
from the corral.” 


16 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


Tom beckoned to the man who was to guide 
the Overlanders across the desert, and, as soon 
as he had turned the protesting bronco over to 
a cowboy, the guide responded to Tom Gray’s 
summons. 

‘‘Lang, this is Mrs. Gray and Miss Briggs,” 
said Tom by way of introduction. 

“Reckon I’m mighty glad to know you all,” 
greeted the guide, mopping the perspiration 
from his forehead with his sleeve. 

Hi Lang interested Grace at once. Of me- 
dium height, thin-featured, with a complexion 
that reminded her of wrinkled parchment, eyes 
that, though intelligent and alert, frequently 
took on a dreamy, far-away expression, Hiram 
Lang proved a new type of westerner to Grace 
Harlowe. 

“Got your telegram that you reckoned on 
starting to-day,” he told her. 

“Yes. Of course we do not wish to hurry 
you, but we are eager to get on our way. What 
about the supplies and equipment? Have you 
ordered everything that I suggested?” 

The guide nodded. 

“The stuff already has gone on ahead in 
charge of Ping Wing — ” 

“Who?” laughed Elf reda Briggs. 

“Ping Wing, a Chinaman, with four lazy 
burros. Good man. Can cook, too. Been on 


GEEAT AMERICAN DESERT 17 


the desert before. Lively as a cricket. Only 
trouble with Ping is that he thinks he can sing. 
Ride and shoot? ’’ he demanded, abruptly chang- 
ing the subject. 

am not much of a rider, but manage to 
stick to the saddle most of the time,’’ answered 
Grace. shoot a little. We are all novices, 
with the exception of Lieutenant Wingate who 
is an excellent shot. The lieutenant was a fight- 
ing aviator in the war.” 

Hi nodded and stroked his chin. 

‘‘Reckoned you could ride some. When we 
get out on the desert I’ll see how you can shoot. 
When do you think you want to start ? ’ ’ 

“I will leave that to you,” replied Grace. 

“Three o’clock this afternoon. We’ll make 
the range where Ping will be waiting for us, and 
have chow there, then go on in the cool of the 
evening. Want to look over the broncos?” 

“If you please. I should like to try the 
ponies that we are to ride. ’ ’ 

“Do — do they always kick and buck as we saw 
them do just now?” questioned Miss Briggs 
apprehensively. 

The guide shook his head and grinned. 

“They don’t like to be roped, that’s all. No 
bronco does. They’ll be as all right as a bronc’ 
can be, so long as you don’t use the spur or get 
the critters stubborn.” 

2 Grace Earlowe on Desert 


18 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


‘‘If you say they are perfectly safe for my 
friends to ride, I am satisfied, though I should 
like to try them out. Hippy, have you ridden 
any of these animals ? ’ ’ asked Grace, turning to 
Lieutenant Wingate. 

“He tried to,’’ observed Tom Gray dryly. 
“Hippy mounted one on one side and promptly 
fell off on the other before getting his feet in 
the stirrups. It was not the pony’s fault, how- 
ever, but Hippy’s clumsiness that caused the 
disaster.” 

“That’s right, have all the fun at my expense 
you wish. I am the comedian of this outfit any- 
way,” protested Hippy. “Let’s see you ride 
one of them. Brown Eyes,” he urged, speaking 
to Grace. 

“Please have them saddled one by one and I 
will try them, Mr. Lang,” directed Grace. 
“Any pony that I can ride, the others surely 
can. ’ ’ 

The guide nodded and turned away. Grace 
watched the saddling with keen interest, espe- 
cially the saddling of the first pony selected for 
her, which squealed and pawed and danced as 
the cinch-girth was being tightened. 

“Vicious!” objected Elfreda Briggs. 

‘‘No,” answered Grace. “Just playful. If 
the others are no worse, we shall have a good 
bunch of horses.” 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 19 


The saddle being secured, Grace stepped up 
and petted the little animal for a few moments, 
then mounted. The pony danced under her, 
then, at a word, galloped off. The Overland 
girl rode but a short distance, and, turning back, 
trotted up to the group smilingly. 

‘‘Spirited but sweet, was her comment as 
she dismounted. “He will be all right if he is 
used right. Try him, Elfreda. I know you 
will like him.’’ 

Miss Briggs took her test without falling off, 
and promptly claimed the little brown animal 
as her own private mount. 

“You made a most excellent selection, Mr. 
Lang,” complimented Grace, after she had tried 
the ponies for the rest of the girls and found 
them suitable. Each girl also tried out and 
selected her own mount from those that Grace 
had approved, the cowboys and half the village 
being interested spectators. Grace was pleased, 
both with the ponies and with the riding of her 
girl friends. Not the least of those who were 
pleased was Hi Lang, who, before the coming of 
the outfit, had felt considerable doubt as to the 
success of the proposed jaunt. Now he knew 
that the Overland Riders were not rank green- 
horns, as he expressed it to himself. 

“Which animal did you think of selecting for 
mef ” asked Grace smilingly. 


20 


GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


‘‘Eeckoned you’d do that for yourself,” an- 
swered the guide. 

“Thank you. Please have that black roped 
and brought out. He is the one I think will 
please me, ’ ’ replied Grace promptly. 

^ ‘ What, that black bronc ’ ? He ’s a lively one, 
Mrs. Gray. Don’t reckon you’ll be able to stick 
on him at all, ’ ’ warned Hi Lang. 

“I have fallen off before, sir. Have him 
roped and brought out. I ’ll try him out. ’ ’ 

The guide shrugged his shoulders and walked 
over to the head wrangler. 

“Why take such unnecessary chances?” 
begged Tom Gray. “Surely there are plenty 
of ponies in the bunch that are safe for you to 
ride. ’ ’ 

“Tom, surely the black one can be no worse 
than that wild western pony that I bought last 
fall and rode. You know he was supposed to 
be the last word in viciousness and bucking abil- 
ity, but I rode him successfully. ’ ’ 

“Very well, go ahead. You won’t be satis- 
fied until you have tried him, but remember, I 
warned you,” returned Grace’s husband with 
some heat. 

“Now, Tom,” begged Grace pleadingly. 
“Please don’t be a cross bear and spoil my 
trip. You have been so perfectly lovely about 
it right up to this moment, that it would be too 


GEEAT AMERICAN DESERT 21 


bad if you were to get peevish now. If you say 
I must not, of course I will not try to ride the 
animal, but I do so want him. ^ ^ 

Tom Gray shrugged his shoulders and 
laughed. 

‘‘Go to it, little woman. You have my full 
permission to break your neck if you insist. I 
will see that little Yvonne keeps your memory 
green. ^ ’ 

‘ ‘ Oh, Tom ! You are such a dear, but I prom- 
ise you that you won’t have occasion to keep my 
memory green so far as that mischievous little 
black pony is concerned.” 

Grace Harlowe ’s confidence in herself was not 
without good and sufficient reason. The west- 
ern pony that she had ridden the previous 
winter had demonstrated nearly all the tricks 
known to the stubborn broncos of the great 
west. At first Grace had had some bad spills, 
but eventually she learned to outwit her pony 
and ride him no matter how savagely he tried to 
unhorse her. 

Not only had Grace learned to ride, in antici- 
pation of another summer in the saddle, but, 
under her husband’s instruction, she had taken 
up revolver shooting, and by spring was capable 
of qualifying as an expert, especially in quick 
shooting at moving targets. Thus fitted for the 
strenuous life in the wilder parts of her native 


22 


GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


land, Grace looked forward with calm assur- 
ance to the experiences that she knew lay before 
her. 

‘ ^ Bring out the black, ’ ’ Hi Lang had directed. 
^ ^ Cinch him so tight it will make him squeal. ’ ^ 

When a wrangler’s rope caught him, the 
wiry little animal fought viciously for a few 
moments, then suddenly surrendered and was 
led out as docile as a lamb. 

‘‘Who said that black is vicious?” demanded 
Hippy Wingate. 

“Want to ride him?” asked the guide good- 
naturedly. 

“No. I have a real pony for myself.” 

“Watch those ears, Grace,” warned Tom 
Gray. 

“I am,” replied Grace, and Hi Lang, over- 
hearing, grunted his satisfaction. 

The black pony’s ears were tilted back at an 
angle of forty-five degrees, and there he held 
them while the saddle was being set in place, 
and the girth cinched, both forefeet spread 
wide apart and head well down. He winced a 
little as the girth was drawn a hole tighter so 
that the saddle might not slip, but otherwise 
made no move, which, the cowboys said, was an 
unusual thing for him to do. 

The pony’s sudden surrender was of itself 
suspicious to those who were familiar with the 


GEEAT AMEEICAN DESEET 2a 


■western bronco, and the laid-back ears were 
significant to them of trouble to come. 

‘‘Is he an outlaw T’ asked Grace, meaning an 
animal naturally so vicious that he never had 
been satisfactorily broken. 

Hi Lang, to whom the question had been ad- 
dressed, gave Grace a quick glance of inquiry. 

“Some call him that. At least he’s got the 
ginger in him, and mebby he is an outlaw. 
Keep a tight rein on him; don’t let him get his 
head down if you can help his doing so, and 
stick to your leather. Watch him every second, 
for he’s got a box full of tricks.” 

‘ ‘ Thank you for the suggestions. I shall not 
forget.” 

‘ ‘ I ought not let you ride him. I reckon you ’ll 
get enough of the critter before you have ridden 
himmany minutes, even if you stick on that long. ’ ’ 
“Mr. Lang, I intend to ride that ‘critter,’ as 
you call him, across the desert. Will he bolt 
while I am mounting! ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Mebby. All ready now. ’ ’ 

“Have you any last requests to make, Grace 
Harlowe!” asked Elfreda Briggs frowningly. 
Elfreda strongly disapproved of Grace’s “fool- 
hardiness, ’ ’ as she called it. 

“Yes, keep back and give me plenty of room. 
See that the other girls do the same. The black 
may do a little side-stepping.” 


24 


GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


Grace, as she had done with the other ponies 
before mounting, stepped up to the black and 
began petting and caressing him, now and then 
straightening up the animal’s ears, chiding him 
as she might a child. This made the cowboys 
laugh. Cowboys when subduing broncos do 
not ordinarily do so with anything resembling 
baby talk, and it was their firm conviction that 
this pretty young tenderfoot from the east was 
about to get the surprise of her life. Instead 
of feeling sorry for her, however, the souls of 
the cowboys were filled with joy at the prospect 
of some real fun. It was not often that they 
were privileged to see an innocent easterner 
make an exhibition of himself on a vicious west- 
ern pony, and this was the first time they had 
ever seen a woman from the east attempt to ride 
a bucking bronco, which made the occasion all 
the more interesting. 

Stand clear, please,” warned Grace, giving 
the pony’s neck a final pat, and at the same time 
edging her way back from his head, measuring 
the distance to the stirrup with her eyes. 

‘H’ll give you the word when to hit the 
leather,” directed Hi in a low voice. ‘‘Watch 
your step. ’ ’ 

Grace acknowledged the warning with a brief 
nod, watching the black’s head narrowly. The 
animal still stood with forefeet braced apart. 


GEEAT AMERICAN DESERT 25 


head slightly lowered, ears, it seemed, flatter 
than ever. 

‘‘If I miss it I’m lost,” muttered Grace, re- 
ferring to the stirrup. 

“Ready,” warned the voice of the guide. 

The girl’s left hand holding the bridle rein 
crept cautiously to the pommel of the saddle. 

“Now!” 

Grace’s left foot caught the stirrup and, like 
a flash, the Overland girl landed hard and firmly 
seated on the saddle, the right foot in the stir- 
rup on that side, then, with the aid of stirrup 
and cantle, she braced herself to meet the shock 
that she knew was right at hand. 


CHAPTER II 

AN “outlaw” meets his match 
HE black did not move a muscle for a 



few seconds, then, with a sudden turn of 


the head, he made a grab for his 
rider’s leg. 

Grace, never having taken her eyes from the 
laid-back ears, gave a quick kick with her left 
foot, catching the pony fairly on the nose. As 
he hastily withdrew his head, she took advan- 


26 


GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


tage of the opportunity to tighten up on the 
reins, which brought the animaPs head well up. 

All these preparatory activities were ob- 
served with intense interest by cowboys and 
Overlanders. 

Watch him!” called Hi Lang in an urgent 
tone. 

Grace was watching, her every faculty bent 
to the task of discovering what the next move 
of her mount was to be. 

The black, as she tightened the rein, reared 
high in the air until his rider seemed to be stand- 
ing straight up. One moment she felt that they 
were both going to fall over backwards, and was 
about to clear the stirrups to jump. Instead she 
brought her crop down on the black’s head, with 
a resounding whack. 

‘‘Yeow!” howled the cowboys, but Grace did 
not hear them, for the pony had dropped to all 
fours, and no sooner had his feet touched the 
ground than he leaped clear of it, coming down 
stiif -legged with a jolt that jarred Grace Har- 
lowe throughout her body in spite of her effort 
to soften the shock by throwing most of her 
weight on the stirrups. 

‘‘He’s going to buck,” warned the steady 
voice of Hi Lang. 

Grace knew it in advance of the guide’s warn- 
ing, but, though she tugged with all her might, 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 27 


she was not strong enough to get the black 
bronco head up so he could not carry out his 
intention. There followed a series of bucks 
and squeals, accompanied with flying hoofs, that 
sent the spectators fleeing for safety. 

As for the Overland girl, her head was spin- 
ning, her hair was down and her sombrero long 
since had fallen off and been trampled in the 
alkali dust by the hoofs of her mount. The jolt- 
ing she was getting was almost more than she 
could endure and sharp pains were shooting 
through her body. This bronco indeed was a 
master at the art of bucking, but vicious as were 
his movements the black had not succeeded in 
ridding himself of his rider. 

‘‘Look out I’ ^ yelled the guide. 

All four feet went from under the pony and 
he struck the ground on his side with a force 
that brought a grunt from him. In the cloud of 
dust the spectators thought that Grace had been 
caught under the horse and crushed. Emma 
Dean uttered a cry of alarm, and Nora Wingate 
turned her head away that she might not see. 

‘ ‘ She ’s all right ! ’ ^ shouted Hiram Lang, who 
had sprung forward to give assistance if it 
were needed. 

The pony had thrown itseff on its right side. 
Mr. Lang found Grace sitting calmly on the side 
of the saddle, free of the body of the horse, but 


28 


GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


breathing heavily. Her quickness had been the 
means of her disengaging herself as the bronco 
threw himself to the ground. 

After giving the black a few seconds on his 
side, the Overland Rider brought her crop down 
on his rump with a vicious whack. It stung. 
Like a flash the pony was on his feet, with 
Grace ^s feet now planted firmly in the stirrups. 

As Grace had expected, the bucking was re- 
sumed the instant the pony felt the smart of the 
crop. How the dust did fly then, and how those 
cowboy wranglers did yell ! 

Who’s a tenderfoot!” howled Hippy Win- 
gate. ‘‘Just watch her smoke.” 

Grace Harlowe’s whole body was weary, but 
her grit was not diminishing in the least. How- 
ever, she decided that the time had arrived when 
she must do a little fighting for herself, and not 
leave it all to the pony, so, having arrived at 
this decision, Grace watched narrowly for a 
favorable opportunity to begin. 

The opportunity came a few seconds later 
when the horse threw up his head preparatory 
to pitching forward in another series of savage 
bucks. Grace jerked the animal’s head to . one 
side, brought her quirt down sharply, and, at 
the same time, jabbed the little black fighter 
with her spurs. 

She continued to apply this treatment for 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 29 


several seconds until the bronco, goaded to a 
change of tactics, whirled and started away at a 
run, driving straight through the assembled 
crowd. The crowd fled for their lives with 
Grace unable now to do more than stay on the 
saddle. 

The black had not gone far before he stopped 
as suddenly as he had started, stopped stitf- 
legged, braced himself and slid on his feet 
through the alkali for several yards. 

Grace Harlowe had been alert for this very 
thing, but just the same the suddenness of the 
move had nearly unhorsed her. As it was she 
fell forward on the neck of the bronco, but, re- 
covering herself before the animal could begin 
bucking again, she regained her former position 
in the saddle and applied crop and spur vigor- 
ously. 

The bronco again tried to buck, but under 
Grace ^s lively treatment he gave it up and 
started to run, and for the next few minutes 
pony and rider went like a black streak across 
the landscape, the Overland girl giving the pony 
no time for anything but to travel as fast as his 
legs would carry him, until they were a full two 
miles from the village. 

Grace finally turned him about, without re- 
sistance on the pony^s part, and raced for the 
corral, driving and urging the pony with crop 


30 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


and word, bound to wear him down and con- 
^^.nce him once and for all that she was his 
master. 

As the Overland Rider came up to the corral, 
now at a jog trot, the bronco covered with white 
foam, the cowboys broke loose. Shrill cowboy 
yells, whoops and cat calls and a rattling fire of 
revolver shots into the air greeted her achieve- 
ment. 

‘‘Grab him, you duffers!’’ shouted Hi Lang, 
running toward the bronco as he saw Grace 
wavering on her saddle. “Can’t you see that 
game kid’s all in?” 

It was only by the exercise of sheer pluck that 
Grace Harlowe had held her seat on the saddle 
throughout that grilling ride. She had fought 
and won a battle with an “outlaw” pony that 
many a hard-muscled cowboy had fought only 
to lose. Now that she had conquered, however, 
Grace felt weak and dizzy, and the reaction, she 
found, was worse than the experience itself. 

At Hi Lang’s command, halt a dozen cowboys 
had sprung to her assistance, but it was Hi who 
held up his arms to help her down. 

“Fall over. I’ll catch you,” he urged. 

Grace shook her head and tried to smile. 

‘ ‘ I — I think I can make it, tha — ank you, ’ ’ she 
gasped, freeing her feet from the stirrups and 
slipping limply until her feet touched the 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 31 


ground. For a moment she stood leaning 
against the bronco for support, one hand cling- 
ing to the pommel of the saddle. 

The guide sought to draw her away, fearful 
that the pony might spring to one side and let 
loose a volley of kicks. 

Grace shook her head, her left hand grasped 
the mane of the pony and she pulled herself to 
his head. Fumbling in her pocket, she drew 
forth a piece of candy and felt rather than saw 
the bronco’s lips close over the sweet morsel. 

‘‘Wall, ef thet don’t beat the Dutch!” ex- 
claimed a cowboy. “A bronc’ eatin’ outer a 
lady’s hand. What’s the alkali flats a-comin’ 
to?” 

“She’s a reg’lar lion tamer, thet ’s the shorest 
thing I know,” declared another. “Hey! 
What’s up now?” 

Grace’s fingers had slowly relaxed their grip 
on the black bronco’s mane, a faint moan es- 
caped her lips, and the Overland girl slipped 
down under the pony’s neck in a dead faint. 
The bronco, merely by lifting a forefoot and 
bringing it down on his conqueror, could have 
crushed the life out of Grace Harlowe. 

Instead, the horse arched his neck, curled his 
head down and nosed her with the nearest ap- 
proach to affection that any man there ever had 
seen a bronco exhibit. 


32 


GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


Hi Lang gathered the unconscious girl up 
cautiously and carried her to a safe spot where 
he laid her down. 

‘ ^ Get water. Everybody stand back and give 
her air, ’ ’ he directed. 

will look after her,’^ said Elfreda Briggs, 
hurrying to Grace ^s side. 

The water, fetched in a cowboy’s hat, came to 
hand just as Grace regained consciousness. 
Elfreda bathed her face from the hat and 
fanned her with her own sombrero. 

‘^What a per — perfectly silly thing for me to 
do,” muttered Grace, raising herself on one 
elbow. 

‘Hf you mean riding that wild animal, I agree 
with you,” frowned Miss Briggs. 

mean the faint. What will these men 
think of me ? ’ ’ 

reckon if you’ll give them a chance they’ll 
tell you what they think,” interjected Hi Lang. 
‘^Bud, come here,” he called, beckoning to one 
of the wranglers. ‘^This little lady wants to 
know what you fellows think of a woman who 
rides a horse and then faints away. Tell her.” 

Bud stepped up, flushing painfully under his 
tan, awkwardly fumbling his hat. 

^‘Ah — ^Ah reckon they think thet you’re ’bout 
the gamest little sport thet ever hit the leather,” 
declared Bud. ‘‘Any feller thet sez you ain’t. 


GEEAT AMEEICAN DESEET 33 


is a liar and a hoss thief Bud glared about 
him as if challenging some one to take up his 
defi. 

Grace laughed so merrily that, for the mo- 
ment, she forgot that she was supposed to be in 
a fainting condition. Getting up rather un- 
steadily, she offered her hand to the cowboy, 
who, in his embarrassment, instantly dropped 
his bravado and half held out a limp paw for 
Grace to shake. 

Themes our sentiments. We double cinch 
what Bud jest articulated. Lady,’’ called a cow- 
boy voice. 

Thank you. Bud. Thank you all, fellows. 
It is much higher praise than I deserve,” she 
replied, smiling and waving a hand to the 
group. 

Where do you all reckon on goin’. Miss?” 
questioned another of the men. 

Grace told him that they had planned to cross 
the American Desert. 

^‘And maybe we’re going to look for a lost 
gold mine or a diamond mine or an iron mine 
down in the Specter Eange, or something 
equally exciting,” added Hippy Wingate. 

‘‘Eeckon there ain’t no such animal in these 
here parts,” drawled Bud. ‘Hf you all need 
help any old time. Ah reckon you all know where 
to come for it, Lady, ’ ’ he added. 

S Grace Harloioe on Desert 


34 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


Grace thanked him and said she would re- 
member. 

‘‘You are not thinking of riding that black 
bronco, are youT’ questioned Tom Gray. 
“What^s the next moveT’ 

“Yes, to your first question. We expect to 
make our start this afternoon, unless Mr. Lang 
advises to the contrary. What do you say, Mr. 
LangT^ 

“I reckoned that, after what youVe been 
through, you’d be wishing to lay up for the rest 
of the day,” replied the guide. 

“That would be the sensible course to fol- 
low,” agreed Grace’s husband. 

“No. No change of plans is necessary so far 
as I am concerned,” she replied. “Mr. Lang, 
will you please ask one of the boys to groom 
Blackie — that is what I shall call my pony — and 
not to be cross with him! I do not wish the 
little fellow stirred up. I have him temporarily 
under control, and am certain that after I have 
ridden him for a day he will be as manageable as 
the rest of them. Where shall we meet you, 
Mr. Lang?” 

“Right here at the corral. Three o’clock.” 
Hi turned his back on them and walked away to 
give Grace ’s directions about the bronco to one 
of the wranglers. 

“I am going back to the hotel to lie down for 


GEEAT AMEEICAN DESEET 35 


an hour/’ announced Grace. ^‘Tom, you may 
go out and do a little shopping for me while I 
am resting. Girls,” she said, turning to her 
companions, would suggest that all of you 
turn in for a beauty sleep. You will need it, for 
we shall have a hot, dusty ride between here and 
the mountains, which we shall not reach until 
some time this evening. If you have any fur- 
ther purchases to make at the general store, you 
had better make them now, or let Tom do it for 
you. We must be on time at the corral. Mr. 
Lang probably has timed our departure to fit 
certain plans of his own. ’ ’ 

The girls said they had completed their pur- 
chases, and shortly after that all were sound 
asleep, fortifying themselves for the experiences 
before them, experiences that were destined to 
be the most strenuous that they had ever met 
with, outside of the battle front in France. 


36 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


CHAPTER III 

A THEILLING MOMENT 

^‘■TXTE are ready, Mr. Lang,’^ greeted 
V/ V/ Grace Harlowe as she and her party 
came up to the corral where the 
guide was supervising the saddling of the ponies 
for the outfit. 

The girls now wore the overseas uniforms 
that they had worn in their ride over the Old 
Apache Trail. In addition, a red bandana 
handkerchief was twisted about the neck of each 
Overland Rider, in true western style, to keep 
the alkali dust from sifting down their necks. 

All the equipment except mess kits and 
emergency rations, and a canteen of water for 
each, had been sent forward on the burros in 
charge of the Chinaman, Ping Wing, whom the 
Overland girls had not yet met. 

^‘How is Blackie behaving at present, Mr. 
LangT’ questioned Grace, stepping over to- 
wards the guide, who was readjusting the cinch- 
girth on the little animal. 

‘‘Quiet as a kitten after finding a nest of 
young mice. Better put your revolver in the 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 37 


saddle holster where it will be handy. That’s 
where I carry mine. The lieutenant is stowing 
his now. Never know when the ‘hardware’ is 
going to come in handy on the desert.” 

A lump of sugar found its way into the black 
bronco’s mouth from Grace Harlowe’s hand, as 
she petted and talked to the little fellow. This 
time his ears were tilted forward, and he stood 
motionless while his new master was caressing 
him. The instant Grace stepped away, how- 
ever, the black grew restless. He dragged the 
cowboy who was holding him and threatened to 
break away, nor was he quieted until Grace her- 
self intervened and, slipping the bridle rein over 
her arm and leading the pony, walked over to 
Tom Gray. 

“No wonder you are successful in managing 
a husband,” observed Tom. “Even the dumb 
animals bow to your will. ’ ’ 

“Now, Tom,” protested Grace laughingly, 
the color mounting to her cheeks. “That 
wasn’t a bit nice of you.” 

“Ready whenever you are, Mrs. Gray,” inter- 
rupted the voice of Hi Lang. 

Grace turned to her husband, the laughter 
gone from her face. 

“I shall miss you, Tom dear. Write to 
Yvonne as often as you can, and to me, but 
yvonne needs our letters to keep her from get- 


38 


GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


ting lonely at school. Good-bye and the best of 
luck, as we used to say when we were in 
France. ’ ’ 

Grace patted the neck of the black bronco, and 
Tom assisted her to the saddle. Blackie began 
to prance, but, though he threatened to buck, 
he did not. Grace finally subdued him and sat 
waiting for her companions to mount, all of 
whom managed the operation successfully, 
though Emma Dean was twice nearly unhorsed. 

The cowboys, as the Overland girls observed, 
were saddled up as if they too were going along, 
but she supposed they were starting out on some 
duty connected with their work. All but two of 
them mounted, and there followed an exhibition 
of prancing and bucking that furnished amuse- 
ment and interest to Grace and her friends. 

Bud and a companion finally rode up before 
Grace and dismounted, the former removing 
his sombrero and approaching her awkwardly. 

Glancing inquiringly at Mr. Lang, Grace saw 
that he was smiling. 

^‘Bud has something on his mind. I reckon 
he wants to unload, Mrs. Gray, ’ ^ announced the 
guide. 

‘^Yes, BudF^ smiled Grace encouragingly. 
■‘‘What is it?’’ 

“It’s yourself. Miss. The bunch here reck- 
oned as I, bein’ gifted with the knack of gab, it 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 39 


■was fer me to speak for ’em. They’re tongue- 
tied when there ’s a woman on the premises. ’ ’ 

‘‘What is it the ‘bunch’ wishes you to say to 
me?” asked the Overland girl. 

“They seen you bust the black bronc’ this 
morning, and bein’ as no female woman ever 
pulled otf a stunt like it in these parts, they 
reckoned it might not make you mad if they told 
you you was all to the good.” 

“Thank you — thank you all.” Grace waved 
a hand and smiled at the eager faces of the cow- 
boys who, lined up on their ponies, just to the 
rear of Bud and a companion, were eagerly 
hanging on Bud’s words, but not taking their 
gaze from Grace Harlowe’s face for an instant. 

“The bunch reckoned, too, that bein’ a cham- 
peen mebby you’d take a little present from 
’em. I ain’t much on spreadin’ the dough, even 
if I have some gab,” added Bud, floundering for 
the rest of his speech. 

“Bud, I’m just as excited as you are, and, 
were I in your place, I should not know what to 
say next,” comforted Grace seriously. “Wliat 
is it that the ‘bunch’ wished you to give to me? ” 

Bud reached a hand behind him, whereupon 
his companion placed something in it. Emma 
Dean whispered to Nora that it looked like a 
blacksnake all coiled up and ready to jump. 

“This here,” resumed the cowboy, holding up 


40 


GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


the coil that had been passed to him, ‘4s a real 
Mexican lariat, made by a Greaser, but real 
horsehair, and warranted not to kink or to miss 
in the hands of a lady. The bunch reckons as 
they^d like to give it to you to remember ^em 
by,’^ concluded Bud, stepping forward and 
handing the lariat to Grace. 

“Bud — boys, I donT need anything to make 
me remember you, but of course I will accept 
your thoughtful gift. I never threw a rope and 
could not hit the side of a barn with one, but 
now that you have given me this beautiful piece 
of rope I am going to learn to throw it. Mr. 
Lang, will you teach me how to rope — ^to throw 
the lasso? 

The guide nodded. 

“If we come back this way, I hope I shall see 
all you boys here, and I will then throw the rope 
for you and you shall tell me whether or not I 
am a hopeless tenderfoot.^’ 

“You ain’t no tenderfoot already,” called a 
cowboy. 

‘ ‘ Thank you. Good-bye, all. ’ ’ Grace waved 
her sombrero, and, blowing a kiss to her hus- 
band, clucked to her pony and was off at a 
gallop, following in the wake of Hi Lang, who 
had already started on. 

The others of the Overland party swung in 
and the party began its journey. They had 


GEEAT AMEEICAN DESERT 41 


gone but a short distance when, hearing shouts 
to the rear, they turned to discover the cowboys 
racing toward them in a cloud of dust. 

‘‘What do they want, Mr. LangT’ called 
Grace, urging her pony up to him. 

“I reckon they^re coming out to give you a 
send oif,’^ answered the guide. 

As they approached, the cowboys spread out 
and began circling the galloping Overlanders, 
yelling, whooping and firing their revolvers into 
the air. Now and then one’s sombrero would 
fly off, whereupon a following cowboy would 
swing down from his saddle and scoop up the 
hat. 

Eopes began to wiggle through the air as the 
western riders sought to rope each other. They 
were giving Grace Harlowe a demonstration of 
what western roping was, and, as she rode, 
Grace observed and enjoyed, as did her com- 
panions. 

Suddenly a rope darted into the air behind 
her, and, had she not seen its shadow, Grace 
surely would have been caught. Interpreting 
that shadow for what it was the Overland Eider 
threw herself forward on her pony’s neck just 
as. the loop descended. It dropped lightly on 
her back, but she was out from under it in a 
flash, and, as she sped on, she turned a laugh- 
ing face to the roper, who was being rewarded 


42 


GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


by the jeers of his companions who had chanced 
to see him make the cast and fail. 

Howling and whooping like a wild Indian, an- 
other rider shot directly across Grace’s path, in 
his glee spinning his sombrero as high in the 
air as he could throw it, intending to ride under 
and catch it. Grace’s revolver, the same 
weapon that she had taken from Belle Bates, 
the wife of the bandit of the Apache Trail, was 
out of its holster in a second. Her first shot at 
the spinning hat missed, but her second shot 
was a hit. She put a hole right through the 
crown of the hat. 

The whooping and yelling was renewed as the 
owner of the hat scooped it up from the ground 
and held it up for the others to see. There were 
two, however, who were taking no interest in 
the shooting — the cowboy who had tried to rope 
Grace, and a companion who was chasing and 
trying to rope him in payment for his unsports- 
manlike attempt to cast his lariat over Grace 
Harlowe’s head. 

The two were darting in and out among the 
racing cowboys and Overlanders at the immi- 
nent peril of running down some one ; the dust 
was a suffocating, choking cloud except as they 
rode ahead, and then only those in the lead were 
out of the worst of it. The Overlanders were 
coughing and perspiring, and the shouting and 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 43 


shooting at times made conversation well nigh 
impossible. 

“What is this, a wild west showr^ cried El- 
freda Briggs, riding toward Grace Harlowe, 
who was entering into the sport with a zest that 
set Hi Lang’s head nodding in approval. 

“The real wild west, Elfreda. It is not easy 
to find, but we have found it in earnest. Oh! 
Look at that!” 

The pursuing cowboy had now roped a hind 
foot of the pony ridden by the man who had at- 
tempted to lasso Grace Harlowe. 

The lariat being attached to the pommel of 
the thrower’s saddle, the roped pony went down 
on its nose, violently hurling its rider to the 
ground, but the little horse was up in a flash, 
galloping away and dragging along the rope 
which it had jerked free from the owner’s hands 
and from the saddle pommel. 

Not only was it dragging the lasso, but also 
its cowboy rider, who, with one foot caught in a 
stirrup, was being bumped along on his back 
over the uneven ground. 

Elfreda Briggs, nearest to the fallen cowboy, 
instantly spurred her pony after the runaway. 
She was abreast of it in a moment. Grasping 
the bridle of the runaway, Elfreda tugged at it 
with all her might in her endeavor to stop the 
animal, shouting, “Whoa! Whoa!” 


44 


GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


In the meantime, Grace on Blackie was head- 
ing for the scene at top speed, seeking to head 
off the runaway. 

Others also were trying to stop the animal 
and rescue the fallen cowboy, but it was El- 
freda’s race, with Grace following her. El- 
freda was clinging desperately to the bridle of 
the runaway with one hand, the other holding 
fast to the pommel of her saddle, but despite all 
her efforts she failed to check the speed of the 
runaway, leaning over toward it further and 
further as the space between the two ponies 
widened. 

This meant a fall for Elfreda, as she sud- 
denly realized. 

‘‘Let go!^’ cried Grace, but Elfreda was too 
busy to hear and still held on to the runaway. 

The runaway swerved sharply to the right. 
Miss Briggs had the presence of mind to kick 
back with both feet as she felt herself going to 
fall off. She did this to clear her feet from the 
stirrups so that when she fell she might not be 
dragged along on the ground by one foot. She 
was now leaning too far over to be able to re- 
cover her balance on her own saddle. 

Miss Briggs suddenly let go of the pommel of 
her saddle as she felt herself slipping, and threw 
both arms about the neck of the runaway, to 
which she clung with all her might. 


GEEAT AMEEICAN DESERT 45 


‘‘Whoa! WhoaP^ she gasped chokingly, her 
feet whipping the ground with every leap of the 
runaway as she was dragged along. Elfreda 
was taking severe punishment, but she was en- 
during it pluckily, determined to hang on until 
either the runaway stopped or her arms came 
oif. 

Grace Harlowe drew down rapidly on the 
runaway and its victims, having so timed her ar- 
rival that she succeeded in heading the pony off, 
with several yards between it and herself. 

“Whoa! Whoa!’’ commanded Grace sharply, 
at the same time hurling her sombrero into the 
face of the runaway. Instead of slowing down, 
he came on with a rush, and Grace, who was now 
directly in his path, saw that she could not avoid 
a collision. 

The bronco ridden by Grace braced himself, 
seeming to know instinctively what was coming. 

In the next moment the runaway plunged 
against Blackie, and the impact bowled Blackie 
over flat on his side. 

Grace already had slipped her feet from the 
stirrups, and, when the collision came, she too 
threw herself on the neck of the runaway. 

“Ha — ang on! We’ll stop him!” she cried, 
her arms now tightly encircling the runaway’s 
neck, her feet dragging on the ground just as 
Elfreda ’s were. 


46 


GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


By this time the two girls on the running 
pony’s neck were surrounded by mounted cow- 
boys. 

^‘Let go! Jump clear so we kin rope him!” 
shouted Bud, for the men dared not rope and 
throw the horse, fearing that he might fall on 
one of the girls and crush her. 

The cowboys did not seem to realize that 
neither girl would let go of her own free will 
until the runaway had been stopped. 

The end came suddenly. The heavy burden 
on his neck was too much for the bronco, and, 
his knees weakening, all at once he stumbled 
and went down on his nose, then toppled over 
on his side, enveloped in a cloud of dust. 

They ’re caught!” shouted Hi Lang. 


GEEAT AMERICAN DESERT 47 


CHAPTER lY 

PING WING MAKES A DISCOVEEY 

W HEN the cowboys, with Hi Lang in the 
lead, reached the Overland girls, they 
discovered Grace Harlowe calmly sit- 
ting on the runaway bronco ’s head to hold him 
down. 

‘‘Get Miss Briggs out from between the 
pony’s legs. She can’t help herself. Drag the 
man out, too. The pony fell on him,” urged 
Grace. 

“Are you hurt, Mrs. Gray?” begged Hi anx- 
iously. 

“No.” 

“And Miss Briggs?” 

“I think not. She was a little stunned when 
we fell with the bronco. Hold down his head 
so I can get to her. ’ ’ 

Surrendering her seat on the bronco’s head 
to a cowboy, Grace got up and insisted in re- 
moving Elfreda from her perilous position. 
They stood Miss Briggs on her feet, Grace sup- 
porting her with an arm about her waist to give 
Elfreda opportunity to collect herself. 


48 


GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


^^How do you feel nowT’ asked Grace. 

^^All — all mussed up, was J. Elf redans char- 
acteristic reply. 

Both girls showed the effects of their experi- 
ence. Their hair was hanging down their 
backs, their uniforms were covered with dust 
and their faces were grimy from the alkali dirt 
of the plain. 

‘‘Let me walk you about to see if all your 
joints function,’^ suggested Grace. 

“They never again will do so properly as 
long as I live, ^ ^ complained Miss Briggs. ‘ ‘ Did 
the ponies run awayf I mean our ponies. 

“I have been too busy to notice. If you will 
sit down I will see what I can do for the poor 
fellow who was dragged.’’ 

Elfreda insisted on assisting, and a moment 
later both girls were kneeling beside the dazed, 
hut conscious, cowboy whose clothing was in 
tatters and whose face was scarcely recogniz- 
able from the dust that was ground into it. 

Grace moistened her handkerchief with water 
from her canteen and bathed the man’s face, 
and Elfreda, producing a bottle of smelling 
salts, held it to his nostrils. The cowboy 
quickly came out of his daze. One arm was 
doubled up under his body, and this Elfreda 
Briggs carefully drew out. The cowboy 
groaned as she did so. 


GEEAT AMEEICAN DESEET 49 


‘‘Can you lift your armT^ she asked. 

“No/’ gritted the cowboy, his face twisting 
with pain as he tried to raise the arm. 

“His left arm is broken,” announced Elfreda. 
“Men, you must get this poor fellow to town as 
quickly as possible. I will make a sling to sup- 
port the arm until you can get him to a sur- 
geon. ’ ’ 

“Do you folks reckon you want to go back to 
Elk Eun, too?” questioned the guide. 

“I was about to ask that question of you,” 
replied Grace, turning to Elfreda. 

“You should know better than to ask,” re- 
turned Miss Briggs. 

“We will go on, Mr. Lang. Perhaps it is as 
well that we have been broken in properly at the 
start. We shall be in better form to cope with 
real emergencies if such arise,” declared Grace. 

‘ ‘ Eeal ! Huh ! ’ ’ grunted Hi Lang. 

“Oh, you’ll get used to having things hap- 
pen,” soothed Hippy Wingate. “Wherever 
this outfit goes there is trouble and then some 
more. ’ ’ 

“Yes, but this is the worst,” complained 
Emma Dean. . 

‘^Alors! Let’s go,” urged Elfreda Briggs as 
she got up after having arranged a sling to sup- 
port the cowboy’s injured arm. 

Their ponies were led up by the cowboys and 

4 Grace Harlowe on Desert 


.50 


GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


the girls mounted for a fresh start, Grace and 
Elfreda considerably rumpled and both very 
tired after their lively experience. The cow- 
boys, having loaded their injured companion on 
a pony, now gave the Overland girls a rousing 
farewell whoop and trotted slowly homeward. 

Hi Lang had uttered no comment on what 
had occurred, but he was keeping up a constant 
thinking, now and then scowling observingly at 
his charges. Of Grace and Elfreda he had no 
doubts, for, in his estimation, they had gradu- 
ated from the tenderfoot class. The others had 
yet to prove themselves. 

The ride was hot and dusty, and, in order to 
make up for lost time, the party was riding fast, 
but the ponies, though already flecked with 
foam, appeared to be as fresh as at the start. 

‘^What time do you think we will reach the 
mountains r’ called Anne, who was suffering 
tortures from the heat and dust. 

‘ ‘ Sundown, ’ ^ briefly answered the guide. ‘ ^ It 
will be worse than this after we reach the 
desert.’’ 

Worse!” groaned Emma. shall expire, 
I know I shall. ’ ’ 

The mountains, for which they were heading, 
were looming larger now, and looked cool and 
inviting compared to the heat of their present 
position. 


GEEAT AMERICAN DESERT 51 


^ ^ What is that smoke ^ asked Grace Harlowe, 
as they neared the range, pointing to a thin 
spiral of vapor rising from the mountains. 

‘ ‘ I reckon it ^s in our camp. Ping should have 
chow ready by the time we get there.’’ 

^‘You intend to go on this evening, do you 
not?” asked Grace. 

‘^Yes. You said you were in a hurry to get 
to the desert.” 

shouldn’t put it that way, Mr. Lang, but I 
am rather eager to get into the real phase of our 
journey, and eager to know what the desert is 
like. I have a feeling that I shall love it.” 

^‘Some do — some hate it,” replied the guide 
thoughtfully. 

‘^Do you hate it?” questioned the Overland 
Rider. 

love it,” murmured Hi Lang after a brief 
silence. ‘‘Little woman, I love the white sandsy 
the burning heat of the day, the deadly, sweet 
silence of the night when all the stars come 
down so close you can almost reach out and 
touch them. I love the dead odor, and then — ” 

“Yes?” urged Grace. 

“I hate it, I fight it — and I win,” added the 
guide in a tone that was almost triumphant. 
“Yet, I’d rather be out there where the starving 
coyotes howl the night through, where the great, 
gaunt gray wolves loom up in the night seeking 


52 


GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


what they may kill and eat, or where a step in 
the dark may be your last should you tread on a 
desert rattler. I^d rather be there and face all 
of that, and the peril of dying from thirst, than 
be anywhere else in the world, he concluded, 
and then lapsed into silence. 

understand, Mr. Lang. It is the lure of 
the desert that appeals to you, though none 
knows better than you the perils that lurk there 
for the unwary traveler. I hope and believe 
that I may feel as you do about it.^^ 

^ ^ You will, and so will Miss Briggs. I am not 
so certain about the others. ’ ^ 

‘‘When you get to know us better, Mr. Lang, 
you will find that, though some of us complain 
and fret, all are true blue.” 

“Humph! Reckon I know something about 
that myself. What I saw to-day shows me that 
I don’t have to worry about you and Miss 
Briggs. Did you know that Ike Fairweather 
wrote me a long letter about you folks?” 

Grace looked her interest. 

“Yes. Ike said I’d have my hands full, and 
that you folks would trot a pace that would 
make my legs weary trying to keep up with you. 
Said you weren’t afraid of anything that 
walked, crept or crawled. ’ ’ 

Grace laughed merrily. 

“Mr. Fairweather is mistaken. I am ter- 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 


53 


ribly shy of snakes and — and — ^well, I donT 
know what else, ’ ’ she added lamely. 

Hi Lang chuckled under his breath, 

^‘Yes, that’s our camp where you see the 
smoke. I just caught a glimpse of Ping. I 
reckon when we get closer we ’ll hear his voice. ’ ’ 

‘^We are almost there, girls,” Grace called 
back to her companions. ^^That is Ping’s 
smoke you see yonder.” 

“Is Ping on fire*?” answered Emma so inno- 
cently that the Overlanders shouted with laugh- 
ter, and Hi indulged in the hearty, soundless 
laugh that they had already discovered was 
characteristic of him. 

A few moments later a cooling breeze from 
the range was wafted down to them, heavy with 
odors of mountain and foliage and suggestive 
of cooling mountain water as well. 

“What’s that screeching?” demanded Hippy 
Wingate, as they fell into single file and began 
climbing a narrow mountain trail. 

“Screeching?” answered Anne Nesbit. 
“Why, that’s our Celestial being singing a 
lullaby to the coyotes lurking in their dens.” 

As they drew nearer those in advance could 
make out some of the words of the song. The 
guide pointed to a rock, behind which Ping was 
cooking supper, and held up a hand to indicate 
that the party was to stop and listen. 


54 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


‘^What on earth is he saying?’^ wondered 
Nora Wingate. 

should call it a heathen version of ^Little 
Jack Horner J suggested Miss Briggs. 

Hi nodded. 

‘‘Listen!^’ urged Grace. want to hear it. 
Perhaps he will sing it again.’’ 

The guide said that when Ping got started on 
a song he ordinarily kept it up for some time 
unless interrupted. 

‘ ‘ Sh — h — h ! ’ ’ warned Grace as Emma began 
to laugh. ^ ‘ He is singing again. ’ ’ 

Ping, in a high falsetto voice that was almost 
a screech, sang : 

‘‘^Littee Jack Horner 
Makee sit inside corner. 

Chow-chow he Clismas pie ; 

He put inside t’um, 

Plab catchee one plum, 

Hai yah! what one good chilo (child) my ! ” 

The Overland girls, unable longer to contain 
their laughter, burst into a shout of merriment. 
The song ceased instantly, and a moment later 
Ping appeared at the to'p of the rock, clad in a 
white linen suit, the blouse, with its wide-flow- 
ing sleeves, being cut in native Chinese fashion. 
The queue, which Ping had declined to part 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 55* 


with, was tucked into a side pocket, being all 
braided up and shiny, like a snake. 

The Chinaman, in greeting, bowed and 
scraped and smiled and shook hands with him- 
self cordially. 

‘‘Hulloa, Ping Pong! Is supper ready 
called Hippy jovially. 

‘‘Him come along, top-side piecee Heaven 
pidgin man,” answered the Chinaman without 
an instant’s hesitation, which, being freely 
translated, meant, “Supper is ready, high 
Heaven-born man. ’ ’ The retort brought a peal 
of laughter from the girls and a flush to the face 
of Hippy. 

“All right, old top. You win,” was the way 
Hippy confessed his defeat. 

It was a happy, laughing group that rode 
around the rock and into the camp where odors 
of cooking food, and the smiling face of Ping 
Wing, met them. Horses were quickly un- 
saddled and tethered, then the guide introduced 
his charges. Ping shook hands with himself at 
each introduction, and smiled and bowed with a 
profound grace that would have done credit at a 
king’s reception. 

“You belongee plenty smart inside,” was his 
greeting to Grace Harlowe, which she inter- 
preted correctly, Ping having meant to convey 
that, in his opinion, she was an intelligent woman. 


56 


GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


‘‘Thank you. Is mess ready? 

“Les. You belongee one time Fiance?’^ he 
questioned, touching the sleeve of her Eed Cross 
uniform. 

“Yes, we all were in France. I drove an am- 
bulance there; Mr. Wingate was an aviator, 
and the other young ladies worked in hospitals 
and canteens. How do you know about 
France?” 

“Me cook-man in Melican army. No likee 
war. Belongee too muchee number one blam, 
blam!” 

“You mean the shooting ? You mean you did 
not like to have the big German shells come 
over?” smiled the Overland girl. 

“No likee.” 

Hippy ^s appetite was getting the better of 
him and at this juncture he voiced his desire for 
food. 

“Come, come. Ping. We are hungry. 
Eustle some grub for us, for we may wish to be 
on our way, ’ ’ urged Hi Lang. 

Ping, thus reminded of his duty, hurriedly 
gathered the mess kits of the party and soon 
produced a really fine supper, which the Over- 
landers ate sitting on the ground. 

“Are you people pretty tired?” questioned 
Grace. 

A chorus of yeses answered her. Elfreda 


GEEAT AMERICAN DESERT 57 


Briggs said she was so lame that she would be 
glad never to look at a saddle again, and Emma 
Dean declared that her body felt as if it had 
been sandpapered. 

have been thinking that perhaps we had 
better make camp right here and go on to the 
desert some time to-morrow. Will that inter- 
fere with your plans Mr. Lang! ’ ’ asked Grace. 

The guide said it would not, and the girls of 
the party eagerly urged that they be permitted 
to stay where they were and have a good night’s 
rest, so it was decided to pitch their little tents 
on the spot and lay up for the night. 

^‘Ping tells me that a man visited this camp 
late in the afternoon and asked a great many 
questions,” Hi Lang then informed them. 
‘‘The caller, according to Ping, showed a heap 
of interest in what we were here for, where we 
were going and what we proposed to do, and 
said that the best thing for you ladies to do 
would be to turn about and go back to Elk Run. 
Do you know of any one who might be inter- 
ested in heading off your journey over the 
desert, Mrs. Gray?” he asked, bending a search- 
ing look on Grace. 

“I do not, Mr. Lang. If I did it would make 
no difference in our plans. Ping may be mis- 
taken about the man ’s motive. ’ ’ 

The guide shook his head. 


58 


GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


‘^Ping Wing is not easily deceived. He says 
the caller was a ^number one blad man/ only he 
expressed it with some further words to empha- 
size his point. There’s something about this 
business that I don’t like. I’ll keep my eye 
peeled.” 

‘‘Don’t worry, Hi,” soothed Hippy. “This 
outfit can take care of any bad characters that 
get in its way. I — ” 

“Merciful Heaven! What’s that?” cried 
Emma Dean. 

“Ping is in trouble!” cried Elfreda. 

A shrill screeching, accompanied by the clat- 
ter of tinware, a struggle, then two quick shots, 
brought the Overlanders to their feet. There 
was a quick rush toward the scene of the dis- 
turbance, the guide, Grace and Hippy in the 
lead as they ran stumbling over the rough 
ground in the darkness. 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 59. 


CHAPTER V 


STALKING A MOUNTAIN MYSTEBY 

< ‘ T^ING ! Ping I ^ ^ shouted the guide. 

‘ ^ Where are you, Ping Pong ? ’ ^ added. 

Lieutenant Wingate. 

A groan revealed the Chinaman’s presence. 
They found him sitting on the ground, rocking 
hack and forth holding the thumb of his right 
hand. A brief examination revealed that a bul- 
let had clipped otf the end of the thumb. 

observe that we have started in early,” 
declared Miss Briggs. ‘ ‘ Who did it ? ” 

That’s what I want to know,” growled Hi 
Lang. 

‘^Let me dress the wound, then you can ques- 
tion him, ’ ’ suggested Elf reda. 

This having been done. Ping was led into 
camp and placed with his back against a rock 
where the light of the campfire lighted up his 
countenance. 

‘‘Tell me what happened?” demanded the 
guide. 

“Big piecee man come ’long. Him clawl like 
dog. Him listen to what say. ’ ’ 


60 


GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


‘‘To what we were saying interjected 
Grace. 

“Les. Him bad piecee man.’’ 

Hi Lang and Grace exchanged glances of in- 
quiry. Each was wondering what the meaning 
of what Ping had discovered, might be. 

“What then?” urged Mr. Lang. 

“Him clawl like a dog. ’ ’ 

“So you said,” piped Emma Dean. 

“Me clawl like dog too. One timee me tlow 
can tlomatoes and hab hit piecee man on head. ’ ’ 

“You threw a can of tomatoes and hit him on 
the head? ” nodded the guide, whereupon Emma 
Dean laughed, but no one paid the slightest heed 
to her. “What did the man do then?” 

“Him jlump. Me hit piecee man with flying 
pan; then me run. Him shoot — blam, blam! 
and run away. Hab hit thumb. Hab makee me 
stop, and run away. Why for big piecee man 
makee so fashion ? ” 

“We do not know why, Ping. That is what 
we are trying to find out, ’ ’ answered Grace Har- 
lowe. “Can you tell us how the man looked?” 

The Chinaman shook his head. 

“What would you advise, Mr. Lang?” she 
asked. 

“We must beat up about the camp to make 
certain that he is not hiding near, then I will 
stand the watch to-night so that he may not sur- 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 61 


prise us. I will get out the rifles, but be care- 
ful that you don’t shoot each other. In case 
you discover some one prowling, make them 
stand and put up their hands, then call for as- 
sistance. Ping, you will stay here. Three of 
us will be sufficient to go out. ’ ’ 

“Whom do you wish to accompany you!” 
asked Grace. 

“You and the lieutenant will go, if agreeable 
to you.” 

“It will be more agreeable to go than to stay. 
Elfreda, you will please watch the camp,” di- 
rected Grace. “If disturbed, you know what 
to do.” 

Rifles were laid on the ground by the camp- 
fire, Hi, Hippy and Grace having decided that 
the rifles would be cumbersome to carry, and 
that their revolvers would be much more serv- 
iceable. After Hi Lang had given final instruc- 
tions as to how they were to operate, the three 
started out and soon were out of sight of their 
companions. 

A new moon, fast sinking into the west, shed 
a faint light over the mountains, bringing out 
the bare spots and deepening the shadows cast 
by rocks and trees. The stalkers laid their 
course by the moon so that they might keep go- 
ing in one direction and not get in each other’s 
way, though some little distance separated 


62 


GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


them, and only now and then did they come 
within speaking distance of one another. 

Not a sound did the guide make as he moved 
forward. Grace was almost equally quiet in 
her movement, but now and then Hippy Win- 
gate would stumble, followed by a grunt or a 
growl of disgust that might have been heard 
several yards away. 

Hippy, being between the guide and Grace, 
knew that two pairs of ears were alert for any 
fumbling on his part, which irritated more than 
it helped him to be quiet. 

Grace finally halted at the edge of an open 
space, faintly lighted by the moon’s rays, and 
waited watchfully before attempting to cross 
the open spot. Crouching low, she gazed and 
listened, every faculty on the alert. The Over- 
land Eider’s heart gave a jump when she saw 
something move out there behind a clump of 
bushes. 

With revolver at ready, she waited, then lev- 
eled the weapon as something moved out from 
behind the bushes. 

‘^A coyote,” she whispered to herself. ‘‘He 
hasn’t heard me.” 

He heard her whisper, however. The alert 
ears tilted forward as the beast halted ; then he 
bounded away and disappeared in a twinkling. 

Grace was now well satisfied that she was pro- 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 63 


ceeding with sufficient caution. If she could 
approach a keen-eared coyote without disturb- 
ing it, how much easier would it be to stalk a 
human being. Having decided upon this, Grace 
got up and stepped into the moonlit space, feel- 
ing more confidence in herself. 

She had barely reached the middle of the 
open space when, from the other side, and 
plainly at close range, a revolver banged. She 
heard the bullet, as it sped past her head too 
close for comfort. 

Without an instant ^s hesitation, Grace fired 
two shots from her revolver at the flash made 
by the other weapon, then throwing herself on 
the ground, wriggled away into a shadow and 
lay flat on the ground, screened by the short 
shrubbery and the unevenness of the ground. 

Two shots were now fired from the other 
weapon, aimed, as nearly as she could see, at 
the place where she had thrown herself down. 
To the last two shots Grace made no reply. She 
lay waiting, hoping that the person who had 
fired them, would come out and show himself. 

This he was was too wary to do, and finally, 
becoming impatient, she groped for a stone, 
and, finding a small piece of rock, flipped it into 
the air, so that it might fall some little distance 
from her, hoping thereby to draw the other 
fire. 


64 


GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


Still there was no response from her adver- 
sary. 

^‘He must have slipped away, and here I 
have been waiting all this time, afraid of what 
proves to be nothing. I’m going to start on,” 
decided the Overland girl. 

Instead of getting up where she was, Grace 
crawled further to the right for some little dis- 
tance, until she was in a heavier shadow. There 
she arose cautiously, weapon at ready, prepared 
to see a flash and hear the report of a weapon. 

Not a sound nor a movement followed her 
revealing herself. Grace now pushed on with 
still greater caution than before, but rather 
more rapidly, believing that her companions 
by this time had gained a considerable lead 
over her. 

The moon was getting lower, Grace observed, 
and soon the range would be enveloped in dark- 
ness, though she was certain that she could find 
her way back by the stars, from which she 
already had taken her bearings. 

In the meantime. Hi Lang, having heard the 
exchange of shots, had started for the scene at a 
long, loping trot, now and then giving an agreed 
upon signal whistle to warn Lieutenant Win- 
gate of his approach. 

Hippy had heard the shots too, but his orders 
were to keep his position and continue on until 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 65 


directed to stop. As Hi got within speaking 
distance of him, Hippy challenged. 

‘‘Move forward and keep going until I fire 
three signal shots to call you in,’’ directed the 
guide. “The man may run along the ridge. 
Wing him if you see him. He may have shot 
Mrs. Gray. Both of them fired. There they 
go again ! ” Hi Lang was off at top speed. 

Grace, in the meantime, thinking that she had 
heard a twig snap, halted sharply. Then, to 
her amazement, a man stepped out into the light 
a few yards to the rear of her. She saw him 
the instant he emerged from the shadows, and 
he was looking in the direction of the Overland 
camp. 

“Now I have you!” muttered Grace Har- 
lowe, taking a cautious step toward the man 
who was standing with his hack toward her. 

“Put up your hands! I have you covered!” 
she commanded sharply. 

The man whirled like a flash and fired point 
blank at the Overland girl. Grace fired almost 
in the same instant. So close was he to her 
when he fired that she imagined she could feel 
the hot powder strike her face. 

Each fired again. It was close quarters for 
Grace. She sprang to the right hoping to dis- 
concert her adversary and make a more difficult 
mark for him to hit. He pulled the trigger of 

5 Grace Harlowe on Desert 


66 


GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


his revolver, and, at that second, Grace, utter- 
ing a little gasp, toppled over, half turning as 
she plunged forward with arms outstretched. 

Black night instantly enveloped the Overland 
Rider, nor did she hear a rattling exchange of 
shots that followed almost instantly after her 
fall, for consciousness had left her. 


CHAPTER VI 

INTO THE GBEAT SILENCE 

H I LANG had reached the scene just as the 
last shots were being fired by Grace and 
her adversary. The guide had seen 
neither of the combatants, but he had seen the 
flashes of their revolvers. 

At first he was not certain which was which, 
but in a moment the man who had been shooting 
at Grace revealed himself for a second. It was 
then that the guide took a hand. 

Hi Lang was a quick and accurate hand with 
both revolver and rifle, and he feared no man, 
nor collection of men. At his second shot he 
heard his man utter an exclamation and knew 
that he had scored a hit. For the next several 
minutes the two indulged in snap-shooting, fir- 


GEEAT AMERICAN DESERT 67 


ing at the slightest sound or movement; then 
the mysterious stranger suddenly ceased firing. 

The guide was cautious. He did not take 
advantage of the lull in hostilities for some little 
time, and when he did he crawled to one side 
and crept noiselessly around to the position that 
the stranger had occupied when he had fired his 
last shot. The man had disappeared. 

Mr. Lang was anxious about Grace Harlowe, 
but it might be equivalent to suicide to search 
for her until he had satisfied himself that his 
adversary was either wounded or had gone 
away. Finally, having searched all the sur- 
rounding bushes and rocks and finding no one, 
he returned to the scene of the shooting, softly 
calling to the Overland girl. 

There was no response. 

Hi stood still for a moment trying to recall 
where he had seen the flash of her weapon. 

‘Ht must have been about where I am stand- 
ing now. I — ’’ 

Hi Lang suddenly disappeared from sight. 
The guide had fallen into a crevice in the rocks, 
a crevice that had been hidden by dwarf shrubs 
and mountain grass, and it seemed a long way 
to the bottom. Hi bumped his way to the bot- 
tom at the expense of some bruises and a badly 
ruffled temper. 

‘^Hulloa!’' he exclaimed. ‘‘What^s thisr^ 


68 


GRACE HARLOWE 


He had touched something that was not rock 
— something that felt like a human form. The 
guide struck a match and peered down at Grace 
Harlowe, who lay face down at the bottom, and, 
as he turned her face up to the light, he saw 
flecks of blood on it. 

‘‘The hound! He hit her! I’ll kill him for 
that, whoever he may be ! ” 

Placing a hand over Grace’s heart. Hi Lang 
found that she was alive. 

“Thank God for that! Give me the luck to 
meet the critter that did this thing,” breathed 
the desert guide. 

Hi lifted the unconscious Overland girl in his 
arms and began scrambling toward the top of 
the big crevice. Finding that he could not 
make it without freeing one hand, he slipped an 
arm about Grace’s waist, holding her with it 
while he used his free hand to assist him in 
climbing to the top. He reached it a little out 
of breath. 

Without giving a thought now to the peril 
he was inviting by showing himself so boldly. 
Hi stepped out into the open space, raised his 
revolver and fired three shots into the air, the 
signal of recall for Lieutenant Wingate. Then, 
gathering Grace in his arms, he started for the 
camp in long strides, raging silently at the ruf- 
fian who had tried to kill her. 



The Guide Struck a Match. 


69 


70 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


Elfreda, who was on watch just outside of 
their camp, heard him coming and challenged. 

“ It ’s Hi. I Ve got Mrs. Gray. ’ ’ 

“Is — is she hurtr’ questioned Elfreda more 
calmly than she felt. 

She’s been shot, but she’s alive.” 

Miss Briggs ran to meet the guide, and, walk- 
ing along at his side, she placed a finger on 
Grace’s pulse and held it there until they 
reached the camp. Nora, Anne and Emma 
paled as they caught sight of the limp figure in 
Hi Lang’s arms. 

‘‘Who shot her?” asked Elfreda. 

“The critter who tried to kill Ping, I sup- 
pose.” 

‘ ‘ Oh, this is terrible ! ’ ’ wailed Emma. 

‘ ‘ Get water, ’ ’ directed Miss Briggs, after the 
guide had placed her where the light from the 
fire would shine in her face. . 

Nora fetched water from the spring near 
which the camp had been pitched, and Elfreda 
bathed the wound that she found on Grace’s 
head. Elfreda ’s hospital training during the 
war, in France, had already stood her in good 
stead on several occasions since her return from 
Europe. 

“This is not a gunshot wound,” she an- 
nounced after a critical examination of the pa- 
tient’s head. 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 71 


“Not — not a gunshot — ’’ exclaimed Hi. 

“No. It is a severe scalp wound, however.’^ 

“What made it, then?^’ demanded the guide. 

“Either she has been struck over the head or 
she has fallen and humped her head against 
the sharp edge of a rock,” answered Miss 
Briggs. 

The Overland girls drew long breaths of re- 
lief. 

“I found her in a hole in the ground. Fell 
into it myself. That’s where she got hurt,” 
said Hi. “She and that critter were shooting 
at each other when I came up, then all at once 
the shooting stopped. I got in a few shots on 
him myself. Reckon I winged him for he quit 
pretty soon after I got there. What do you 
think!” 

Elfreda, still noting Grace’s pulse and peer- 
ing into her face, nodded encouragingly, and 
placed her smelling salts under Grace’s nostrils. 

“I feared it might be a fracture, but I believe 
it is not that bad. Concussion is the word. 
She must have struck hard, and it is a wonder 
she did not break her neck. You see how the 
neck is swollen. Her pulse is getting stronger, 
and I think she will be out of her faint in a few 
moments.’^ 

Grace regained consciousness shortly after 
that, but she was still dizzy and weak from the 


72 


GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


severe shock of her fall and the loss of quite a 
little blood. 

‘‘Where — ^where was I hitT’ was her first 
question, weakly asked. 

“You were not hit anywhere,’’ replied El- 
freda. “You fell into a hole and landed on 
your head. Mr. Lang, will you carry her to her 
tent? She must he quiet for the rest of the 
night, and it won’t do for us to start across the 
desert until she has had a good rest. ’ ’ 

“That suits me. I’ve got a little job on hand 
for the morning. Here’s the lieutenant,” he 
added, as Hippy came in, wiping the perspira- 
tion from his forehead. 

“What’s this? Brown Eyes knocked out 
again?” he demanded. 

“She fell down and hurt herself,” answered 
Elfreda. 

“What was the shooting. Hi?” 

“Mrs. Gray and that critter out there were 
doing it. I reckon she pinked the pirate, for he 
was shooting with his left hand when he opened 
up on me. I reckon I touched him up too, and, 
getting enough of it, he cleared out. I’ll get him 
for that,” added Hi, gathering Grace up and 
carrying her to her tent. ‘ ‘ To-morrow we ’ll go 
out and see if we can’t round up that critter. 
Can’t do anything to-night except to see that he 
doesn’t do any more damage to this outfit.” 


GEEAT AMEEICAN DESEET 73 


‘ ‘ I think I like to get a shot at him myself, ^ ’ 
observed Hippy. 

‘‘There, Mrs. Gray! You keep quiet. If 
there’s any more scouting to he done this eve- 
ning, the lieutenant and I will do it,” directed 
the guide, laying down his burden. 

Hippy nodded. 

“Lieutenant, what do you think of this busi- 
ness? Are you certain that you folks haven’t 
any enemies?” asked Mr. Lang when the two 
had walked out beyond the camp and sat down 
to talk over the atfair. 

“Not that I know of, in these parts. Hi.” 

“It’s mighty queer. I can’t figure it out,” 
pondered the guide. 

“Have you any?” asked Hippy carelessly. 

“Eeckon I have plenty. They know better ’n 
to cross my trail, though. ’ ’ 

“It strikes me. Hi, old man, that one of them 
crossed your trail this evening,” chuckled 
Hippy Wingate. 

The guide made no reply then, and for some 
moments thereafter occupied himself with his 
own thoughts. 

“You asked me just now if I had any ene- 
mies. I’ll say this, Lieu — ” 

Bang! Bang! 

Two quick shots were fired from behind 
Hippy and the guide. One bullet passed be- 


74 


GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


tween the two men, the other clipped the crown 
of Lieutenant Wingate sombrero. 

The answer came, it seemed, within a second 
after the two shots. Hippy and the guide 
leaped to their feet, drawing their revolvers 
as they did so, and emptying them into the 
bushes, firing low and trying to cover all the 
ground where a man might be lurking. 

‘^As you were about to say,’^ drawled Hippy, 
slipping another clip of ammunition into his re» 
volver. 

^ ‘ That there is one man who might and would 
get me if he thought he could get away with it. 
But why should he wish to shoot a woman? 
Crawl out to the left and then go in and let the 
folks know everything is all right now. I’m 
going to hang around a bit and try to tease that 
cayuse into shooting at me again. ’ ’ 

^‘They’re at it again,” complained Grace 
Harlowe in her tent. ‘^Go out, Elfreda, and 
see if any one is hit. ’ ’ 

Hippy was reassuring the girls when Elfreda 
came out. 

‘‘Humph!” exclaimed Miss Briggs. “We 
surely are making a brilliant start. I think I 
shall be glad to get on the desert. One can see 
such a long way there. Grace is anxious to 
know about those shots, so I will run in and tell 
her. Are you going out again. Hippy? ’ ’ 


GEEAT AMERICAN DESERT 75 


‘‘Not unless I get a word from Hi. You see 
I do not know where he is, and it would not he 
safe for either of us were we both to he out 
there without either knowing where the other 
is.’’ 

Ping, wide-eyed, was an eager listener to 
what Lieutenant Wingate had to say, hut he 
made no comment, and no song that fitted the 
situation found expression on his lips. 

An hour passed, and the guide had not re- 
turned. The girls were getting anxious, but 
Hippy said that, no shots having been heard, it 
was safe to assume that no one could have been 
hit. 

No one had, and all this time Hi Lang, almost 
within sound of their voices, had been lying flat 
on top of a rock, listening with every faculty on 
the alert. For two hours the guide remained 
in one position, watching, waiting and eagerly 
hoping. 

“One shot — just one second when I can see 
my mark, is all I ask,” he muttered. “I’ll get 
that shot yet!” 

A few moments later Hi crept down from his 
hiding place and returned to camp, on the alert 
every second of the way for the report of a re- 
volver and the whistle of a bullet. 

“This beats me,” he declared in answer to 
Hippy’s question as to whether or not he had 


76 


GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


discovered anything. ^‘You folks turn in. 
How^s Mrs. GrayT’ 

“Asleep/^ answered Miss Briggs. think 
she will be ready for a start some time to-mor- 
row. ’ ^ 

The guide told Lieutenant Wingate to turn in 
also, saying that he would watch the camp 
through the night, so the Overland Eiders went 
to bed for what sleep they could get, but they 
passed a restless night, starting up at every 
sound, listening for the report of rifle or re- 
volver or a call for help. Nothing disturbing 
occurred. Shortly after daylight, Grace got up 
and dressed and went out to breathe in the in- 
vigorating, sweet mountain air. She felt 
strong and able to meet whatever emergency 
she might be called upon to face. 

Hi Lang was nowhere in sight. Ping, who 
was fussing with a cook fire preparatory to get- 
ting breakfast, shook his head when Grace 
asked him where the guide was. 

‘‘No can tell,^’ he said, caressing his injured 
hand. 

Breakfast was served at seven o’clock, but 
long before that Grace had been out looking for 
trail signs and finding some, though she could 
not tell whether they had been left by a prowler 
or by one of her own party. 

It was eleven o’clock that forenoon when Hi 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 77 


Lang strode into camp, his rifle slung under one 
arm, a heavy revolver on either hip. 

The greeting of the girls brought a smile to 
the face of the guide. They were relieved and 
glad to see him, and he saw it. He also was 
glad to be with them once more, for, in the brief 
time he had known them, he had grown to feel 
a genuine affection for these bright-eyed, plucky 
young women who preferred to spend their va- 
cation on his beloved desert rather than dance 
away the weeks of their vacation at some fash- 
ionable summer resort. 

‘‘Mr. Lang, where have you beenT’ cried 
Emma Dean. 

“Out looking for game,^^ he answered briefly, 
laying aside his rifle. 

“Did you find itT^ asked Grace smilingly. 

“No. Ping, bring me some chow. How you 
feeling this morning, Mrs. Gray?’’ he asked 
after he had begun eating his breakfast. 

“Fit and fine, sir. You found a trail, I take 
it,” she added in a lower voice. 

“Yes.” Hi gave her a quick look of appre- 
ciation for her keenness. “You hit your man 
all right. I found blood where he was standing 
when you two were shooting at each other. I 
also found the trail, further on, the trail of the 
same man and another. There were two of 
them.” 


78 


GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


wonder which one it was that put a hole 
through my perfectly new hat/’ grumbled 
Hippy. 

‘‘At least one of them has left the range,” 
resumed the guide. “I found the trail of a 
pony and footprints of one man on the other 
side of the range, but what became of the other 
fellow, I don’t know. I’m going out again after 
breakfast and look further. Do you feel like 
making a start to-day?” 

“Yes. I think we should be moving,” re- 
plied Grace. 

“ We ’ll leave after chow this evening. Better 
get what rest you can to-day. Lieutenant, I 
wish you would stick around and see that the 
camp is not bothered. ’ ’ 

“If you need him, Mr. Lang, we can protect 
ourselves. Do not worry about us,” inter- 
jected Grace. 

“Don’t need him. Ping, put some grub in 
my pack, then I’m off.” 

After the guide’s departure time dragged 
rather heavily for the girls. Later in the day 
Grace took her pony out for a gallop and felt 
better for the change. At four o’clock Mr. 
Lang came in, and, though he had been up all 
night and had been hiking in the mountains all 
day long since early morning, he appeared fresh 
and alert. 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 79 


‘‘Pack up and get out!’’ lie ordered, nodding 
to Ping Wing. “Serve the grub on our mess 
kits first. Follow the foothills and we will 
catch up with you. I give it up, folks. This 
mystery has got to solve itself. It’s too much 
for me.” 

“Don’t worry, Mr. Lang. If our friend the 
mystery man keeps at us long enough we shall 
catch him. I wish we knew why he is bothering 
us so,” said Grace. “I should prefer to stay 
here until we solve the mystery, but we must he 
on our way, and perhaps he may follow us. ” 

“That sounds interesting,” observed Miss 
Briggs. 

Ping and his lazy burros started about an 
hour before the rest of the party got under way, 
and when they did get under way they jogged 
along slowly through the foothills of the range, 
where the going was fairly easy. The guide 
said they should come up with Ping before dark, 
and that they would, after having mess, then 
continue on at a slower pace until they reached 
a suitable camping place for the night. 

Dusk was upon them when they finally over- 
took the Chinaman, who was sitting on the rump 
of a burro chattering to his mount to get him 
to go faster, hut without much success. The 
ponies of the party then took the lead, which. 
Hi Lang said, would induce the burros to move 


80 


GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


faster in an effort to keep np, but it was a much 
slower pace than the Overland Eiders were in 
the habit of traveling, that they now dropped 
into. 

Night enveloped the outfit suddenly, it seemed 
to them, and with the cool of the evening their 
spirits rose. Even Ping^s spirits rose, until he 
forgot his aching thumb and broke into song. 

The ground began to slope away under the 
hoofs of the horses, for they were now moving 
down a sharp descent, and the air seemed to 
take on a strange new quality, a new odor. No 
longer could the girls hear the rustling of foli- 
age. A great and impressive silence settled 
over them, in which even the footfalls of the 
ponies were soft and subdued. Glancing up, 
they saw the stars shining with a brilliancy that 
none of the party had ever observed before. 

The chatter of the Overland Eiders died 
away, and Ping Wing^s song died away, also, 
in a throaty gurgle. 

‘‘What is itr^ cried Emma Dean. “I feel 
queer, and my pony is trembling. Oh, Grace, 
I’m afraid of something.” 

Grace knew what it was that was disturbing 
Emma, for she felt something of the same sensa- 
tion that Emma was experiencing, but she made 
no reply. 

“It is the desert!” answered the guide sol- 


GEEAT AMERICAN DESERT 81 


emnly. ^ Mt is the mystery of the desert, a mys- 
tery that no man can solve. Perhaps it is the 
mystery of centuries ; perhaps it is the spirits 
of the thousands who have perished here on this 
sweet, cruel sea of burning sand, that have come 
back to warn us living ones of the fate that may 
be in store for us who dare.” 

^‘The mystery of the desert,” murmured 
Grace Harlowe, but Hi Lang spoke no more. 
His lips seemed sealed, though could they have 
seen his face they would have observed a new 
and more tender expression there, and seen him 
inhale in deep breaths, heavy draughts of the 
faintly scented air of the desert that he both 
loved and hated. 


6 Grace Harlowe on Desert 


S2 GBACE HARLOWE ON THE 


CHAPTER VII 

THE EIKST DESEKT CAMP 

«<TJ" OW far do we go to-night!’’ asked 
I I Grace, after a long silence, during 
which the party moved steadily for- 
ward. 

‘‘Until we find a tank,” was the brief reply 
uttered by Hi Lang. 

“What’s that he says!” questioned Hippy. 

“Mr. Lang says that we must keep on going 
until we reach a tank, whatever that may be,” 
answered Grace. “Will you please explain, 
Mr. Lang!” 

‘ ‘ Tank is a water hole covered by a thin crust 
of alkali. Sometimes the crust is there but the 
water isn’t,” the guide informed her. 

“Do you know where to find one!” ques- 
tioned Hippy. 

“I know where one ought to be, but you can’t 
most always tell. Ought to reach this one about 
midnight. If we get water there we will be all 
right. Go easy with your canteens, for if we 
shouldn’t find water you will need what you 
have.” 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 85 


^^Mine is all gone now,’’ spoke up Emma 
Dean. ‘‘May I have a drink of yours, Grace? 
My throat is burning. ’ ’ 

“One little swallow,” admonished Grace, 
passing her canteen to Emma. “You heard 
what the guide said. ’ ’ 

“Yes, you’ll wish you were a camel before 
you have done with this journey,” added Lieu- 
tenant Wingate. 

Too weary to talk, Anne and Nora were nod- 
ding on their saddles, hut Elfreda was wide 
awake and alert, filled with a wonder that was 
akin to awe at the vast mysteriousness of the 
desert night. 

It was shortly after midnight when Hi Lang 
halted and sat surveying his surroundings. 

“Dismount and rest!” was his brief com- 
mand. 

The Overland girls slid from their saddles, 
and the guide, after handing his bridle-rein to 
Ping, strode otf into the darkness. 

“Oh, this is terrible!” wailed Emma. “I 
know I shall expire. ’ ’ 

“Good! Then we shall have a little peace, 
retorted Hippy laughingly. 

“Don’t,” begged Grace. “The poor girl 
really is suffering, but when she gets used to the 
heat and discomforts out here I think she will 
really enjoy it.” Grace petted the wet neck of 


84 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


her pony and he nosed her cheek and nibbled at 
the brim of her sombrero. ‘^How do you feel, 
Elfredar’ 

As if I had been wearing a mustard-plaster 
suit. I am burned from head to foot. ^ ^ 

‘‘Yes, that’s the way I feel,” cried Emma. 
^‘What is good for it, Grace?” 

“Sand,” interjected Miss Briggs, which sally 
caused a laugh and made the girls feel better. 

At this juncture Hi Lang came up to them, 
walking briskly. 

“Stake down and make camp,” he ordered. 
“You have water!” questioned Hippy. 

“Yes. Ping! Hustle your bones. Get some 
firewood and make a blaze so we can see what 
we’re doing. When that is ready, get supper 
ready, and then pitch the camp. ’ ’ 

“Firewood!” scofied Hippy. “I should like 
to know where you are going to find it!” 

‘ ‘ Sagebrush ! Plenty of that hereabouts. ’ ’ 
Hippy could not understand how a fire could 
be made from green sagebrush, but he waited 
to be shown before making further comments. 
In a few moments the Chinaman had a little fire 
blazing, the guide and Hippy, in the meantime, 
having staked down the ponies and relieved the 
burros of their packs. The burros were left to 
roam where they would, Hi assuring his charges 
that the pack animals were too lazy to run away. 


GEEAT AMEEICAN DESEET 85 


The girls, while Ping was preparing a light 
snpper for them, set to work to pitch the tents. 
Carrying canvas buckets. Hippy and the guide 
then hurried to the water hole. 

‘Ht wonT do to wait for the water, for it has 
a habit, in this country, of suddenly disappear- 
ing while you wait, ^ ^ explained Hi. 

‘^Yes, but whereas the water? wondered 
Lieutenant Wingate, as Hi got down in a hole 
that he had opened by breaking down the crust 
with his boots. 

‘‘Give me that blanket and I’ll show you,” 
he said, reaching for a canvas square, which he 
spread out in the opening and pressed down 
with his hands. 

In a few moments water began seeping up 
through the blanket, which was so placed that 
it was lower in the middle than at the sides. 

“That beats me,” marveled Hippy. “How 
did you know there was water here?” 

“I didn’t. I knew where I found it the last 
time I was this way, but that didn’t mean it 
would be here this time. These desert under- 
ground streams shift their courses almost as 
often as the wind does. Hand me a bucket.” 

Two buckets were finally filled and passed up 
to Hippy. 

“Water the ponies first. Give them only a 
little at first. They’re too warm to drink their 


S6 


GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


fill. When you come back bring the red buckets 
for water for us to drink/’ directed the guide. 

Hippy, marveling at the ways of the desert, 
took the buckets and began watering the ponies. 
The two bucketfuls answered for four of them, 
and by the time he returned to the water hole 
Hi had two more bucketfuls ready for him. In 
this way all the ponies and the burros were sup- 
plied with water, and Hi, working as fast as he 
could, filled all the buckets for the night’s use of 
man and beast, then scrambled out of the water 
hole. 

hope we still find water here in the morn- 
ing, ’ ’ he said. 

‘^What if we do not?” 

‘‘Then we go without it. Lieutenant. One 
has to get used to thirst out here. You will see 
many a dry day before we finish our journey.” 

“Hm — m — m — m ! ’ ’ mused Hippy reflectively. 

“Him come along,” cried Ping Wing in a 
shrill voice, meaning that supper was ready, as 
the two men with their water buckets entered 
the camp. 

“Four meals a day, eh?” grinned Hippy. 
“That is what I call the proper thing. I shall 
have to readjust myself so as to know how to 
live on four meals a day, but I am so hungry 
now that you can see right through me. ’ ’ 

“We always could,” teased Miss Briggs. 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 87 


Now that the supper was ready, Ping piled 
more sagebrush on the fire and made a blaze 
that lighted up the little desert camp, its white 
tents standing out clearly defined in the light 
and appearing very small. Just beyond them 
the crunch, crunch of the ponies’ teeth as 
they tore at the sage, which was to be their only 
food for a long time to come, could be heard, 
and it really was a soothing sound in this sea of 
silence and mystery. 

There was bacon, biscuit with honey, and tea 
for their midnight luncheon. Emma and Hippy 
were first to try the bacon, but no sooner did 
they taste of it than they began to choke and 
sputter. 

‘‘Awful! What stuff are you feeding me?” 
cried Emma. 

“Yes, some one is trying to poison us,” 
groaned Hippy. 

“What’s the matter?” grinned the guide. 

“It is the most awful stuff I ever put in my 
mouth, so bitter I simply can’t eat it,” com- 
plained Emma. 

Grace smiled. She had nibbled at a slice of 
bacon and knew instantly what caused its bitter 
taste. 

‘ ‘ Alkali, ’ ’ the guide told them. ‘ ‘ Everything 
you eat and drink out here will taste bitter, but 
after a time you will not notice the bitter taste. ’ ’ 


88 


GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


Emma uttered a suppressed wail. There 
were complaints from each of the other girls, 
except Grace, who, though she disliked that bit- 
ter taste as much as did her companions, was 
too plucky to voice her dislike. 

‘‘You must make certain that your tents are 
cleared of tarantulas before you take off your 
shoes, folks. If you get out of bed in the night 
be certain to put your shoes on first so you do 
not step on one of the pesky fellows,’’ warned 
the guide. 

“Any other cheerful little features about this 
camp that you can think of?” asked Hippy 
solemnly. 

“Plenty, but I’ll tell you about them some 
other time, unless you discover them for your- 
selves before then.” 

“I wish to goodness that I had gone to the 
seashore where the worst that can happen to 
one is to be pinched by a crab or to drown in the 
surf, ’ ’ complained Emma. 

A laugh cleared the atmosphere, and the girls, 
immediately after supper, prepared for bed, 
which they welcomed eagerly; and soon after 
that the camp settled down for the night, en- 
veloped in deep and profound silence. A gentle 
breeze, sweetly cool after the burning heat of 
the day, crept in and lulled the tired Overland- 
ers to sleep. 


GEEAT AMERICAN DESERT 89 


Now and then the silence was broken by the 
far off echoing scream of a prowling coyote or 
the distant hoot of an owl. But the Overland- 
ers did not hear. They were sleeping soundly, 
storing up energy for the coming day, a day 
that was destined to be filled with hardships and 
excitement and peril for them. 


CHAPTER VIII 

CALLEES DKOP IN 

H eat waves were shimmering over the 
eastern horizon when the Overland 
girls awakened next morning. The 
guide had been up since daybreak fetching 
‘ ‘ bitter water, ’ ^ as the girls called it, and serv- 
ing it to the ponies and burros. 

^^Whew!^^ exclaimed Elfreda. ‘‘This looks 
like a warm day. ^ ^ 

“Regular Russian bath day,’’ agreed Anne 
Nesbit. 

“I fear we girls will not have any com- 
plexions left after this journey,” added Nora 
Wingate. “I wonder if that husband of mine 
is still asleep ! ’ ’ 

“Hippy is always sleeping — ^when he isn’t 


90 


GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


awake or eating,’^ declared Emma ambiguously, 
causing a laugh at her expense. 

‘^You folks made a mistake that time,’^ 
chuckled Hippy from the adjoining tent. 

Everybody makes mistakes. That’s why 
they put erasers on lead pencils,” retorted 
Emma quickly. 

‘‘Good night!” they heard Hippy Wingate 
mutter, after which he relapsed into silence, 
while a shout of laughter greeted Emma ’s sally. 

“Come, girls, turn out,” urged Grace. “We 
have a day ahead of us. ’ ’ 

Breakfast was ready when they emerged 
from their tents, and this time they ate without 
complaining of the bitter taste of food and 
water. 

The sun came up while they were at break- 
fast, lighting up the cheerless landscape and 
whitening the sands. The mountain range 
where they first camped had disappeared in the 
distance and they were alone in the burning- 
silence. Ahead, here and there, ugly buttes lay 
baking in the morning heat, some showing a 
variety of dazzling colors, others a dull leaden 
gray. 

“How far do we go to-day. Hi?” questioned 
Lieutenant Wingate. 

“Until we find water,” was the brief, but sig- 
nificant reply. 


GEEAT AMEEICAN DESEET 91 


After breakfast, and while Ping, singing hap- 
pily, was striking camp and packing the equip- 
ment on the burros, Mr. Lang and Hippy 
brought in and saddled the ponies, turning each 
one over to its rider as it was made ready; then 
the start was made. Hippy Wingate, the girls 
observed, held a small package under one arm, 
which he guarded so carefully that it aroused 
the curiosity of his companions, but Hippy 
merely grinned in response to their questioning. 

As the sun rose higher the heat became well 
nigh unbearable to some of the party, and espe- 
cially to Emma, if one were to judge by her 
bitter complaints. Emma declared that she 
never could live through it, and Grace began to 
have doubts herself with reference to her little 
friend. 

As they progressed, the landscape grew more 
and more desolate and forbidding. Gaunt 
ravens soared staring over the wan plains, hairy 
tarantulas now and then hopped from the path 
of the ponies, and the ‘^side-winder’’ — the 
deadly horned rattlesnake, which gets its name 
from its peculiar side-long motion as it crawls 
across the burning sands — squirmed out of the 
way, following snorts of fear from the ponies. 

They halted at noon for a rest and a light 
luncheon, near one of the barren buttes. Grace 
asked if it would not be possible to find a rest- 


92 


GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


ing place on the butte where they might find 
shade under a rock. Hi Lang shook his head. 

‘^Too many snakes up there/ ^ he replied. 
‘‘Dangerous!^’ 

‘^Br — r — r — r — r!’’ shivered Emma. 

The water carried in canvas receptacles on 
the burros was apportioned among the horses 
and burros, but there was only a small quantity 
left for each animal, not more than a quart 
apiece. This, however, was enough to take the 
keen edge from their thirst. 

Following the resumption of the journey. 
Hippy carefully unwrapped his package, eager 
eyes observing the operation. The girls gasped 
when he threw the wrapping paper away and 
revealed a dainty blue silk parasol, which he 
raised and held over his head. 

‘‘Every man his. own shade tree,” chuckled 
Hippy. “If any of you ladies find you are be- 
ing overcome by the desert heat, you are at 
liberty to ride in the shadow cast by my Christ- 
mas tree.” 

“You are very considerate. W e thank you, ’ ^ 
answered Anne. 

‘ ‘ Selfish ! ^ ’ rebuked Emma. 

Hi Lang laughed silently, but made no com- 
ment. Neither heat nor hardship appeared to 
affect him unpleasantly. Hi, Grace observed, 
appeared always to be in a listening attitude, 


GEEAT AMERICAN DESERT 93 


as if he were expecting something or some one. 
Grace asked him why he did so, but the guide 
merely smiled and rode on with head slightly 
tilted to one side, listening, listening I 

Early in the afternoon the guide began look- 
ing for water, now and then dismounting to 
search about for a tank, breaking in crusts of 
alkali, putting an ear to the ground to listen for 
the murmur of an underground stream, or feel- 
ing with his hands over several yards of hot 
sand in search of a cool spot that might indi- 
cate water. 

^ ‘ N othing doing yet, ’ ^ he announced. ‘ ‘ There 
ought to be a tank about five miles further on.^’ 

However, they had journeyed on ten miles 
more before a promising spot was reached, and 
the guide and Hippy began to dig for the pre- 
cious water that Hi said surely was somewhere 
below them. 

They found it finally, but there was so little 
of it that he was not certain that they would get 
enough for their ponies. There was but little 
water left in the canteens, none at all in the 
bags, and it became necessary to find a supply 
sufficient for both ponies and riders. 

“Every drop here is precious,” warned the 
guide. “Be careful that you do not spill any.” 

Water was first carried to the ponies, small 
quantities being given to them as before, the 


94 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


girls assisting in the operation, and the supply 
was getting alarmingly low when Grace, return- 
ing from carrying a quart to Blackie, suddenly 
halted and gazed off across the desert. 

A cloud of dust, that appeared to he ap- 
proaching, had attracted her attention. The 
Overland girl wondered if it was a wind-squall, 
such as she had heard was quite common on 
the desert. After watching it for a few mo- 
ments she decided to speak to the guide and call 
his attention to it. 

see it. It’s horses,” said Elfreda, step- 
ping up beside Grace. 

‘ ‘ Do you think so ? ” 
know it is.” 

‘^Then your eyes are better than mine,” an- 
swered Grace. suppose it is some party 
headed for Elk Run. Mr. Lang ! ’ ’ she called. 

‘‘What is it?” demanded Hippy, who was 
standing over the hole in which the guide was 
working. 

‘ ‘A party of horsemen coming this way, sir ! ” 

“You don’t say! That’s right. Hi,” said 
Hippy, speaking to Mr. Lang. “Quite a bunch 
of them, too, I should say.” 

The guide’s head appeared above the rim of 
the water hole and he gazed searchingly at the 
oncoming alkali cloud. 

“Bunch of cowboys or wild horse hunters,” 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 95 


lie observed. ‘‘Anyway, weVe got first claim 
on the water. Hi returned to his work and 
Hippy resumed passing water to the girls, but 
kept the approaching horsemen under observa- 
tion, as did also Grace Harlowe. 

‘ ‘ Those fellows are kicking up an awful lot of 
dust, it seems to me,^’ observed Nora Wingate. 

“Yes, I hope they slow down before passing 
us, ’ ’ answered Anne. ‘ ‘ I have swallowed about 
all the dust to-day that I can digest. ’ ’ 

Emma Dean, not to be outdone, declared that 
she too had swallowed a lot of dust — so much 
of it that a good wind would blow her away and 
sift her over the desert. 

“You surely would be the plaything of the 
winds in that event, ’ ’ murmured Anne. 

“They are heading directly for the camp,’^ 
Hippy was saying to Hi Lang, but the guide 
gave no heed. He wished to get all the water 
out of the tank that he possibly could before the 
party reached them, knowing very well that 
they, the newcomers, would also want water. 

A few moments later the desert riders gal- 
loped up on foaming ponies. They were not a 
prepossessing looking lot, and the eight men of 
the party carried rifles in their saddle boots and 
revolvers on their hips. 

“Water shouted the one who appeared to 
be the leader. 


96 


GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


Kerens water, old top, but pass it around. 
We haven T much of the alkali beverage on 
hand this evening.’’ Hippy handed up a par- 
tially filled bucket to one man and another to 
the rest until each man had been supplied. 

‘H’ll take the buckets now,” announced 
Hippy. 

‘ ^ Hey, you ! Where you all headed for 1 ’ ’ de- 
manded Hi, straightening up and surveying the 
newcomers narrowly. 

^‘Eeckon we might ask the same question of 
you. Who ’s them gals 1 ’ ’ questioned the leader. 

‘^That is none of your business who they or 
we are!” retorted Hippy Wingate sternly. 

‘^Say, you fellow! Looking for trouble!” 
demanded Hi in an even voice. 

‘‘Pass that bucket to me!” commanded 
Hippy. 

‘ ‘ Ye want thet bucket, hey ! ’ ’ leered the desert 
rider. Then, quick as a flash he emptied the 
contents of it over Lieutenant Wingate’s head. 

“Get ready for trouble,” ordered Grace Har- 
lowe sharply to Elfreda Briggs, at the same 
time raising her right hand above her head, a 
signal that Emma, Anne and Nora understood. 
It was the Overland Eiders’ signal of distress 
and meant that all hands should instantly pre- 
pare to defend themselves. 

All the girls expected to see Hippy’s revolver 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 97 


come out of its holster after that insult. In- 
stead, the desert rider was violently yanked 
from his saddle and stood on his head in the 
sand. So quick had Lieutenant Wingate been 
in unhorsing the man that the ugly visitor had 
not even time to draw his weapon. 

Up to this juncture, Hi Lang had remained 
in the water hole, industriously dipping up 
water, at the same time keeping a wary eye on 
the progress of affairs above. He did not think 
best to take a hand until hostilities actually be- 
gan, knowing that were he to spring out and 
draw his weapon, the desert riders would shoot 
before his revolver was out of its holster. 

Peering out cautiously he saw that every man 
of the desert riders was resting a careless hand 
on the butt of his revolver. At the same time 
Hi observed something else in the opposite di- 
rection. Grace Harlowe and Elfreda Briggs 
had stepped up close to the water hole and each 
was standing with a hand on her hip. 

The situation was resting on a hair trigger, 
and, even in the tenseness of the moment. Hi 
Lang found himself keenly interested in what 
he saw — the Overland Riders in action. 

The leader of the newcomers sprang to his 
feet raging. Hippy Wingate, now close to the 
man, pushed the flat of his hand against the fel- 
low ^s face. 

7 Grace Harlowe on Desert 


98 


GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


‘‘Get off my desert, you imitation rough- 
neck,’’ invited Hippy sweetly. In the same 
breath he added in a savage tone : “Keep your 
hand away from that gun!” emphasizing his 
command by thrusting the muzzle of his own 
revolver against the desert rider ’s stomach. 

The visitor’s back was toward his com- 
panions, so that they did not get the full import 
of what was taking place, but they looked their 
amazement when they saw their leader turn his 
back on Hippy. They did not know that he 
was doing this in obedience to Lieutenant Win- 
gate ’s order, nor that the leader’s revolver at 
that moment was in Hippy’s hand, Hippy hav- 
ing slipped it from its holster while still press- 
ing his own weapon against the man who had 
ducked him. 

“I told you to get off my desert,” said Hippy, 
incisively. “I’ve changed my mind. I’m go- 
ing to kick you off ! ” 

Lieutenant Wingate retreated a step, sprang 
clear of the ground, and with a kick that had sent 
many a ball over the goal, he kicked the desert 
leader into the water hole. Hi Lang was not so 
considerate. As the fellow scrambled to his feet, 
Hi laid him flat on his back with a blow between 
the eyes that instantly put the fellow to sleep. 

The battle between the two parties of desert 
travelers was on in a second. 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 99 


CHAPTER IX 

PIKATES GET A HOT BECEPTION 

T he desert riders, who had been laughing^ 
over their leader ^s downfall after 
Hippy jerked him from his pony, sud- 
denly awakened to a realization that the scene 
they had witnessed had ceased to become a 
joke. 

The rider nearest to the water hole whipped 
out his revolver and fired, but the bullet went 
over Hippy’s head for the very good reason 
that, expecting this very thing, he had ducked. 

Hippy fired in return, hit the pony, and the 
rider tumbled otf as the pony went down. 

Hi Lang was out of the water hole in a 
twinkling. 

‘ ‘Keep your hands otf your guns ! ” he shouted 
to the visitors, drawing his own weapon. 

A bullet went through his hat. Another spun 
him around as it furrowed the fleshy part of his 
left arm, but the man who had fired the second 
shot got his reward in the next second. A bul- 
let from Grace Harlowe’s revolver went through 
his shoulder. 


100 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


“Let them have it!’’ commanded Hi Lang. 
* ‘ They ’re out to do us ! ” 

Two rifles, in the hands of Anne and Nora, 
banged from the tent in which they, with Emma 
Dean, were crouching, waiting for orders to take 
a hand in the battle. Bullets were flying rather 
thickly, but the desert riders’ ponies, under the 
touching up they were getting from the re- 
volvers of the defenders, were making careful 
shooting impossible for their riders. The de- 
fenders had the advantage of a steady footing 
under them, and they were shooting with ex- 
treme care, trying their best not to kill any one, 
but endeavoring to punish the attackers, and to 
keep themselves from getting killed. 

The grilling fire was getting too hot for the 
desert ruffians, handy as they were with 
weapons and horses. Several, too, had been 
hit or unhorsed, though the Overland party did 
not really know how much damage they had 
done to the attackers. 

“Shoot their ponies from under them!” com- 
manded Hi Lang. “It’s the only way.” 

“ No, no ! Please, not that, ’ ’ protested Grace. 
“The ponies haven’t harmed us.” 

The guide shrugged his shoulders and, tak- 
ing quick aim at a rider who was jerking his 
rifle from the saddle boot, shot the fellow out of 
his saddle. 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 101 


Hi Langes next shot downed a pony, its rider 
being thrown heavily to the ground, where he 
lay stunned from the fall. Four men were now 
down and a fifth, the leader of the party of ruf- 
fians, was still in the water tank where Lieuten- 
ant Wingate had kicked him and where the 
guide had then put him to sleep. The leader 
had long since recovered consciousness, but, be- 
ing unarmed, he wisely decided to remain where 
he was, knowing very well that, were he to try 
to reach his companions or his mount, he would 
be shot down. 

There were now only three mounted men of 
the attacking party left and these suddenly be- 
gan galloping away from the water hole. 

‘‘Rifles called Hi. 

Grace and Elfreda sped to their tent and 
quickly returned carrying four rifles and ammu- 
nition. The guide had instantly divined the 
purpose of the attackers in drawing ofi. They 
wished to get out of revolver range of the Over- 
landers and then use their rifles on them, but by 
the time the desert ruffians turned, facing the 
scene of their late battle. Hi, Hippy, Grace and 
Elfreda were shooting steadily with their rifles, 
pouring a hot fire into them. 

One ruffian was seen to sway in his saddle 
and pitch to the ground. One of his com- 
panions gathered him up, then, with the 


102 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


wounded man across a saddle, the two remain- 
ing bandits galloped away, leaving their fellows 
to whatever fate might be in store for them. 

^ ‘ Cowards ! ’ ^ growled Hippy Wingate. 

‘‘No. Common prudence,’^ answered the 
guide. “Help me get the fellows who are 
down. Look out that they arenT playing pos- 
sum. Keep your gun in your hand and watch 
them. Mrs. Gray, will you follow a short dis- 
tance behind us, so that you may have all the 
wounded men under observation?’’ 

“Yes, Mr. Lang.” 

“If you see a suspicious move from any of 
them, shoot!” 

“Yes, sir. Come along, Elfreda, your serv- 
ices probably will be needed. Mr. Lang, you 
were hit. May we not do something for you 
first?” 

The guide shook his head and strode over to 
the water hole, into which he peered. 

“You stay where you are!” he commanded 
sternly, to which there was no reply from the 
leader of the ruffians, who sat scowling up at 
him. “Mrs. Nesbit! Watch that fellow and if 
he tries to get out, drill him ! He isn’t fit to live 
anyway. ’ ’ 

The two men, with Grace and Elfreda follow- 
ing, went out to disarm and examine the men 
who had been downed. They found that two 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 103 


had merely been stunned by falls, two others 
having been wounded in shoulders and arms, 
with numerous bullet holes through their cloth- 
ing. 

Elfreda examined their wounds and an- 
nounced that none was seriously hurt, but that 
the men ought to be taken where they could 
have proper attention. 

Hi Lang laughed. 

‘ ‘ Fiddlesticks ! ^ ’ he scoffed. ^ ^ The only way 
you can kill this sort of critter is to kill ’em. 
We’ll fix ’em up and send ’em on. The ones 
who got away will be waiting for ’em, so don’t 
worry about that.” 

shall dress their wounds and give them 
whatever further attention I can before you 
send them away, Mr. Lang,” replied Elfreda 
firmly. 

Grace nodded her approval. 

‘‘Lieutenant, help me carry them in. It is 
wise to keep them well bunched, you know,” ad- 
vised the guide. 

While he and Hippy were doing this, Grace 
watched the other men. Elfreda returned to 
camp with the first ruffian, and there dressed his 
wounds, gave the man water and made him as 
comfortable as possible. She treated the sec- 
ond wounded man with similar consideration. 

“I do not see that there is anything at all the 


104 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


matter with these men, ^ ’ announced Elf reda 
after examining those who had been stunned by 
falls. ‘‘They should be able to take their 
wounded companions back with them. Are 
there enough ponies left to carry all?” 

“I reckon. They’re out yonder browsing on 
the sage. I’ll catch them up and stake them 
down here. When you say the word, we will 
start these critters off, and good riddance it 
will be.” 

Just before dark Elf reda “discharged” her 
patients, as she expressed it, and they were led 
to their ponies, assisted to mount, and told to 
get out as fast as horseflesh would carry them. 
Not a word of information had the guide been 
able to get from any of them, not even their 
names nor why they were on the desert. 

“I’ve seen that cayuse before,” declared Hi, 
referring to the leader, and regarding the rap- 
idly disappearing horsemen with a deep frown 
on his face. “I can’t remember where, but one 
of these days I’ll think of it. Too bad we can’t 
turn them over to a sheriff, but we’re too far 
out to go back now. ’ ’ 

“That gang was looking for trouble when 
they rode up, ’ ’ averred Hippy. 

“Yes, I reckon they were after us. Some- 
body sent them after us, too. Got any ideas on 
the subject, Mrs. Gray?” 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 105 


‘^No, sir. I am thinking of you at the mo- 
ment. Where were you hit 

‘ ‘ Shoulder. ’ ’ 

‘‘Oh! Why didn’t you say so?” cried El- 
freda. “Here we have been wasting time on 
those ruffians and neglecting you. I’ll have a 
look, if you please. Which shoulder?” 

“Left. Nothing much, I reckon.” 

Elfreda bared the guide’s shoulder and 
peered at the wound. She saw that it was 
merely a superficial flesh wound, but that unless 
it had attention it might prove to be more seri- 
ous. 

With skillful fingers Miss Briggs bathed the 
wound and dressed it. Hi Lang observing the 
professional manner in which she went about 
her work and nodding reflectively. 

“Doctor?” he asked. 

“No, lawyer,” replied Elfreda with equal 
brevity. 

“Huh ! ’ ’ grunted the guide. 

“Were you hit anywhere else?” 

“A few scratches, that’s all.” 

Miss Briggs demanded that he show her, 
which he did. Both lower limbs were, as he had 
told her, scratched by bullets that had grazed 
them, and these surface wounds she also 
dressed. 

“Anyone else needing surgical attention?” 


106 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


she demanded, smiling at her companions, who 
shook their heads. ‘‘Grace Harlowe, how is it 
that you were not shot? I am amazed. You 
must have been in the water hole too, hiding 
from those ruffians.’^ 

“Mrs. Gray isnT of the hiding sort,’’ spoke 
up Hi. “Reckon we better have supper and 
get set for the night,” he said, turning abruptly 
toward the south and gazing off over the desert. 

“Do — do you think those men will come back 
to-night?” questioned Emma, half fearfully. 

The guide shook his head. 

“Not to-night. W e ’ll probably meet up with 
them again one of these days, and I hope we 
do,” he replied, looking thoughtfully up at the 
sky. His survey took in all quarters of the com- 
pass, and when he turned to the Overlanders 
again, Grace thought he looked a little dis- 
turbed. 

“What is it, Mr. Lang?” she asked. 

“I reckon it’s the desert this time,” he re- 
plied. 

“A storm?” 

“Yes.” 

“Rain?” questioned Grace innocently. 

The guide grinned. 

“Nothing like that in these parts. Wind, 
Mrs. Gray. I reckon you’ll meet one enemy 
that you can’t drive off, before this night comes 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 107 


to an end. We better have cbow now, then 
make the camp as secure as possible. Shall you 
tell the others?^’ he asked, nodding toward the 
Overland girls, who, after their exciting battle, 
were chattering and laughing as they assisted 
Ping Wing to prepare the supper. 

‘‘Yes. After we eat. They should know,’’ 
replied Grace. “You see they are not at all 
upset over what occurred.” 

By the time they had finished supper, which 
had been eaten amid much teasing and laughter, 
some one discovered that the stars, before so 
near and brilliant, were now only faintly dis- 
cernible, a veil of thin mist having intervened 
between them and the baking desert. 

Elfreda Briggs regarded the overcast sky for 
a moment, then turned inquiringly to the guide. 

“Fog?” she asked. 

“No. Bad storm. Better go to bed with 
your clothes on to-night,” advised the guide. 

“Is it so serious as that, Mr. Lang?” 

“It may be. Nobody can figure on anything 
on this desert — storms, water, everything here 
is as contrary as an outlaw bronco. Better 
turn in soon and have the others do the same, 
for you may not have long to sleep to-night.” 

“I would suggest that you do the same,” ad- 
vised Elfreda. “You need sleep and rest even 
more than we do. I hear Mrs. Gray telling our 


108 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


friends to prepare for bad weather, so I will run 
along and listen. Good-night, Mr. Lang. ^ ’ 

The Overland girls, requested by Grace to 
turn in, after being told that a storm was in 
prospect, did so, but Hippy still remained up 
talking with Ping, who was scouring the cook- 
ing equipment and carefully stowing it in the 
packs so that it might all be in one place in the 
event that the storm was a severe one. Ping 
Wing had had experience with desert wind 
storms ; he had learned to respect their tremen- 
dous force, and he too had read the danger signs 
in the heavens that night. 

The guide being nowhere in sight. Hippy 
finally crawled into his tent and lay down with 
his clothes on, first, however, placing his re- 
volver where it might be quickly reached in an 
emergency, but there was to be no use for his 
weapon that night. The enemy that he was to 
face later on would be proof against bullets, an 
enemy that no human courage, skill or ingenuity 
could stay. 

Out by the water hole. Hi Lang sat keeping 
silent vigil, narrowly watching those film-mists 
overhead, his nerves on the alert to catch the 
first cooling breath, which he knew from past 
experience would be the vanguard of what he 
fully expected was in store for them. 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 109 


CHAPTER X 

WHEIT THE BLOW FELL 

A FAINT, cooling breath, wafted across 
the desert, fanned the cheek of Hi Lang. 
He inhaled deeply of it, not once, but sev- 
eral times. 

‘Ht is here!’’ he muttered. ‘H hope it may 
be a light one.” Saying which the guide rose 
and walked briskly to the ponies’ tethering 
ground. The animals were restive, they were 
stepping from side to side and an occasional 
snort was heard, but they quieted down when he 
went among them and spoke soothing words, 
petting an animal here, restaking another one 
there until he had spoken to each bronco in the 
outfit. 

The guide’s next move was to step to Hippy’s 
tent and awaken him. 

‘^What is it! Have the desert pirates re- 
turned?” questioned Hippy, sitting up and rub- 
bing his eyes. 

‘^No! Something worse is coming. Do not 
awaken the young ladies just yet. Come out 
and I will show you a great sight. ’ ’ 


110 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


Hippy sprang up and followed the guide. Hi 
paused by the embers of the camp fire long 
enough to stamp them out. 

So they do not blow about and set our equip- 
ment on fire/’ he explained. 

Where’s the sight?” demanded the lieu- 
tenant. 

‘‘Look yonder!” directed Hi, pointing toward 
the western horizon. 

The mist had disappeared from the sky like 
magic and the stars once more shone out with 
all their former brilliancy. Off to the west- 
ward, however, there were no stars to be seen. 
In their place, stretched clear across the hori- 
zon, lay a cloud, black as ink. 

“Watch the upper edge of the cloud,” said 
the guide in a low tone. 

“ It is rolling like the surf, ’ ’ exclaimed Hippy. 

“Yes, and in that cloud are tons upon tons of 
sand that the cloud is carrying along with it. 
We’ll lose a stretch of our desert here in a 
few moments.” 

“Is there nothing that we can do to protect 
ourselves. Hi?” 

“Not a thing. The equipment has been se- 
curely packed. I had Ping put the rifles in a 
sack and stand them upright in a hole in the 
ground so we may find them after the storm. 
Without weapons we should be in a bad way, 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 111 


especially if our friends, the pirates, return, 
but I reckon that what ^s left of that crowd will 
be pretty well sanded. This storm is going to 
pile right up on the range that we left behind 
us.’’ 

A distant, menacing roar now became audible 
to the two men, such a roar as one can hear by 
placing an ear to the opening of a conch shell, 
but magnified perhaps a million times. 

The cool breeze, that had shortly before 
warned Hi Lang, now became a chill blast, mod- 
erate, but plainly thrust ahead by a mighty 
force behind it. 

‘‘Good night!” exclaimed Lieutenant Win- 
gate. ‘ ‘ That breeze must have been born up in 
Iceland. Talk about your heat on the desert! 
Perhaps we shall have some cool weather here 
after the storm passes.” 

Hi Lang laughed. 

“Don’t fool yourself. Lieutenant. It will be 
hotter than ever to-morrow, blistering, sizzling 
hot; and the water courses probably will dive 
deeper into the earth and give us no end of 
trouble to find them. I — ” 

“It is coming, isn’t it?” questioned Grace, 
who had been awakened by the breeze and had 
come up behind Hippy and Mr. Lang without 
their hearing her. 

“It’s well on the way, Mrs. Gray. Perhaps it 


112 GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


might be well to awaken the young ladies. 
Knock down your tents and sit on them or you 
wonT have any tents left. Eeckon we’d better 
do the same, Lieutenant. ’ ’ 

It was plain that the storm soon would be 
upon them and all haste was made to prepare 
for the blow. The tents were laid flat, weighted 
with such equipment as might be expected to 
hold them there, and the Overland Eiders stood 
or crouched a little fearful in this new mystery 
of the desert. 

‘‘Getting closer!” announced the guide. 

“What shall we do?” asked Hippy. 

“Lie down when you can no longer stand up, 
and take pot luck. ’ ’ 

“Any orders, Mr. Lang?” called Grace Har- 
lowe. 

“Yes. Lie down facing the storm and wind 
your blankets about you. Be sure to keep your 
heads covered. If you find that the sand is pil- 
ing up on your backs, shake it off. ’ ’ 

“If you get buried perhaps you may find a 
tank down there, ’ ’ suggested Hippy, but no one 
laughed at his sally. “There goes that crazy 
Chinaman again. I hope he chokes.” 

“He will if he keeps his mouth open much 
longer. ’ ’ 

Ping had broken out in song, which the wind 
was not yet strong enough to smother. 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 113 


‘‘Sometim’ you look-see piece sand he walkee 
mountain high, 

Jist t^hen wind knock top-side off an’ blow 
’um up to sky. 

Jist so my heart walk up inside — befo’ he 
sinkee down — ” 

That was the last heard of Ping Wing for 
some time, the concluding words of his song 
having been lost in a burst of wind that drowned 
out every other sound. 

‘ ‘Down ! Everybody down ! ’ ’ yelled the guide 
just before the blast struck them. 

The sandstorm swooped down on them sud- 
denly, bringing with it black night, a roaring, 
booming, hideous thing. Sand rained on the 
blankets, covering the girls of the Overland 
Riders, and now and then some heavier object, 
they knew not what, struck one or more of them, 
adding to the terror of the moment. 

Emma Dean struggled and moaned in her 
fright. Her blanket, loosened by her move- 
ments, was whisked into the air and out of sight 
in a twinkling. She screamed for help, but no 
one heard her, and Emma threw herself down in 
the sand, or was blown over when she struggled 
to a sitting position. There she lay, her face 
buried in the sand, sobbing and moaning. 

Not a sound had been uttered by any of the 

8 Grace Harlowe on Desert 


114 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


other girls. They were listening, listening, 
wondering how much longer they would be able 
io endure the terrific strain under which they 
were laboring. 

Such wind no person there, except Hi Lang, 
had ever dreamed could be possible. Grace 
found herself wondering if the Arabian simoon, 
of which she had read, could possibly be dead- 
lier. She doubted it. 

By now the girls were fighting to keep from 
being buried alive, and in their choking, suffo- 
cating condition they tried to sit up for air. All 
lost their blankets instantly. The sand beat on 
their faces and heads like sharp-pointed tiny 
hailstones. Their eyes were blinded by it, and 
their bodies burned as if they had been rubbed 
with sandpaper, but there was nothing that 
could be done to relieve their suffering because 
no person could stand up against the mighty 
force of the wind. 

The storm, it seemed to them, lasted for 
hours, though as a matter of fact it had blown 
itself out within fifteen minutes from the time 
it struck them. 

‘‘Backbone of the storm is broken,’’ yelled 
the guide in Hippy’s ear, both being under the 
same blanket. 

“ So is mine, ’ ’ Hippy howled back. ‘ ‘ There ’s 
a ton of sand, if there is a pound on it, this 


GEEAT AMEEICAN DESEET 115 


very minute. Hope the girls are safe. Can 
we get out 1 ’ ’ 

^^No. The wind is too strong. It will die 
out in a few moments. I’ll go out the minute I 
can crawl. ’ ’ 

The men waited several minutes, during 
which the gale was steadily decreasing. The 
guide finally poked his head from under the 
blanket, shading his eyes with a hand to keep 
the blowing sand out, before opening them. 

‘‘Cover your eyes and come on,” he said, 
crawling out and starting to beat his way 
against the gale toward the spot where the 
Overland girls were supposed to be. 

They were huddled together, with their armsr 
about each other to keep from being blown 
away, every head resting on an arm as they lay 
face down on the ground. 

“Stand up, but protect your eyes,” shouted 
Hi. “Gale’s almost over and done for.” 

“So — 0 — o are we,” gasped Grace, stagger- 
ing to her feet, and almost instantly landing on 
her back on the ground where the wind had 
hurled her. 

Hi assisted her to her feet, Grace laughing 
and choking at the same time. The others, in 
turn, were lifted up by Hi and Hippy, all lean- 
ing against the wind, clinging to each other, and,, 
with handkerchiefs in their mouths, breathing 


116 GRACE HABLOWE ON THE 


what air they could get in this way without 
taking in any more sand than they could help. 

The wind stopped with a suddenness that left 
every one of the party unprepared. The result 
was that they fell forward on their faces, and 
for a few moments there was a mixup that, in 
ordinary circumstances, would have brought 
merry peals of laughter, but there was no laugh- 
ter this time. 

The eyes of the Overland Riders were so 
filled with sand that they were too blinded to see 
the stars that once more were shining ‘‘just 
above them. ’ ^ 

“Wet your handkerchiefs with water from 
your canteens and wipe your eyes,’’ suggested 
Grace. 

“Go easy on the water,” commanded the 
guide. “Let’s see where we are at before we 
use water. ’ ’ 

“You are right, sir. I had not thought of 
that,” agreed Grace. 

“Our buckets are full, aren’t they?” ques- 
tioned Anne. 

“Yes — of sand,” spoke up Elfreda. 

“The first thing to do is to settle the water 
question. Ping ! ’ ’ 

Ping Wing came running up, his white suit 
the color of the landscape, for Ping had been 
rolled in the sand to his utter undoing. 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 117 


^ ‘ Go see how many horses we have left. ^ ’ 

^ ‘ Me savvy. Tlee. ’ ’ 

Three? That is better than I hoped for/’ 
chuckled the guide. ‘‘With three we can rea« 
sonably look forward to finding the others some- 
where on the desert, but we can’t do much to im- 
prove our situation until daylight. No use to 
search for our equipment before then. I will 
look into the water question, however, right 
now.” 

“This is the most violent landscape that it 
has ever been my misfortune to gaze upon,” de- 
clared Elfreda Briggs, tossing her fallen hair 
up and down to shake the sand out of it, a pro- 
ceeding that was followed by each of the girls. 

“At least we have one thing to be thankful 
for,” observed Anne. “I thank my stars that 
it is so dark that we cannot see how really tough 
we do look. ’ ’ 

“If I look as bad as I feel I must be a terrible 
sight, ’ ’ wailed Emma. ‘ ‘ Here comes Hi. Have 
we water?” 

“Not a drop except what you have in your 
canteens. The water hole is buried so deep that 
we have lost it. Guard every drop. We are 
in a serious situation. ’ ’ 


118 GBACE HAELOWE ON THE 


CHAPTER XI 

FACING A NEW PEKIL 

AREN’T the water bags safe?” asked 
Hippy. 

^‘They’re gone,” said the guide. 

‘^Everything but the sand seems to be gone,” 
observed Miss Briggs. “I suppose we should 
thank the kind fates that we still have plenty 
of sand.” 

“Plenty of some things is too much,” de- 
clared N ora Wingate. ‘ ‘ Hippy, my darlin you 
weren’t hurt, were you?” 

“Yes, I was killed, but I have come to life 
again. Hi, what is the next thing to be done? ” 

‘ ‘ Kill time until daylight ! ’ ’ 

That was practically what the Overland 
Riders did, but with the first streaks of dawn 
the barren spot assumed an appearance of ac- 
tivity. 

“Lieutenant, we’ll go out and look for the 
horses,” announced the guide. 

“Is Blackie still here?” questioned Grace. 

“No, but there are three ponies left, as you 
know. Wish to go along ? ’ ’ 


GEEAT AMERICAN DESEET 119 


‘‘Yes.’^ 

Ping was directed what to do, and Miss 
Briggs was left to see that the orders of the 
guide were carried out during his absence. Hi, 
Hippy and Grace then mounted the remaining 
ponies and started away, working hack toward 
the range that they had left two days before. 
The wind had blown in that direction and it was 
reasonable to suppose that the lost animals had 
been driven before it. 

‘‘Spread out, but keep within sight of the 
lieutenant, who will be middle man,’’ directed 
the guide. 

When they had finally taken up their posi- 
tions, some three miles separated Grace Har- 
lowe and the guide, with Hippy a mile and a 
half from each of the two outside riders. 

The sun was not yet up, and the morning, 
while not uncomfortable, gave promise of what 
Hi Lang had said it would be — a sizzler. 

The three had ridden for a full hour, when 
off to her right Grace discovered what she 
thought was one of their ponies. Urging her 
mount forward, she galloped rapidly in that 
direction, but after riding for some time she 
was amazed to find that the animal seemed to 
be as far away as when she had started toward 
him. 

“I hope to goodness the pony I see isn’t a 


120 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


desert mirage/’ muttered Grace. ‘^Mirage or 
no mirage I am going to run it to earth.” 

She galloped on at a more rapid pace, hut it 
was a long time, it seemed to Grace, before she 
saw that she really was nearing the little ani- 
mal, who was browsing on desert sage, or what 
few scraps of it remained after the storm. 

Hoping fervently that it was her own little 
spirited Blackie, Grace urged her mount for- 
ward at a lively clip and bore down on the 
bronco who began edging off when he saw her ' 
heading for him. 

^Ht’s Elfreda’s pony !” cried Grace. ‘‘Here, 
boy ; here, boy ! ’ ’ she called. 

The “lost” animal kicked up its heels and 
started away at a gallop, with Grace Harlowe 
in full pursuit. 

“How provoking !” cried Grace as the bronco 
kept galloping from her with aggravating per- 
sistence. The Overland girl rode and coaxed 
until she tired of it, then, touching her mount 
lightly with the crop, she dashed straight for 
the tantalizing roamer. 

It was a race for a little while, the runners 
steadily drawing away from Hippy Wingate 
and Hi Lang, but to this Grace gave no thought. 
Once she nearly got her hand on the bridle of 
Elfreda’s mount, but the little fellow dodged her‘ 
at the critical moment. 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 121 


“Oh, for a rope and the skill to throw it. Vll 
learn to throw a lasso at once. I see it is neces- 
sary out here. Whoa, boy!’’ she commanded 
sharply. 

The runaway bronco stopped short, and, with 
feet spread apart, stood gazing at her as if dar- 
ing the Overland girl to come and catch him. 
Grace decided to try new tactics. Dismounting, 
and slipping her bridle rein over one arm, she 
walked slowly toward the animal, plucking a 
bunch of sage as she went, and holding it out 
toward him. 

The pony looked interested, his ears sloped 
forward and he took a step or two towards her. 
Grace walked up to him confidently, gave him 
the handful of sage and, after petting him, 
grasped the lead rope and then the bridle. 

“All of which goes to prove the assertion that 
it is easier to catch flies with molasses than with 
vinegar. Now be a good boy, and we will jog 
back home to Elfreda,” she soothed to the cap- 
tured pony. 

Mounting, and attaching the end of the lead 
rope to the pommel of her saddle, Grace started 
for camp. At least she thought that was what 
she did. Instead she was headed for the range 
of mountains on which they had first made 
camp. After a little the Overland Rider came 
to a realization that the guide and Hippy were 


122 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


nowhere in sight. Still, she was not greatly 
disturbed, but she was thirsty. A few drops of 
water from her canteen was all that she dared 
allow herself. 

Grace had been traveling for the better part 
of an hour, from time to time glancing up at the 
glaring sun that was just rising, when she sud- 
denly brought her pony up short. 

‘‘Do you think you can find the way back if I 
give you the rein?^^ she asked, petting her 
mount. 

The pony pawed the dirt and whinnied, but 
his rider knew that it was because he too was 
thirsty, instead of being an answer to her ques- 
tion. 

Grace paused to reflect over her situation, to 
consider what was the wise thing to do, finally 
deciding that she would follow her trail back to 
the spot at which she captured the pony. 

“From there it should be easy for me to find 
my original trail ; then all I shall have to do will 
be to follow it to the camp. We must go back, ’ ^ 
decided Grace, turning about and starting away 
at a trot, finding no difficulty in making out the 
tracks of the two ponies. 

The spot at which she had found the lost 
bronco was reached at last. Grace sat for some 
moments, staring at the landscape, turning in 
her saddle until she had looked all the way 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 123 


around the compass, then, clucking to the two 
animals, trotted away, following her original 
trail. 

As she progressed, the trail grew fainter, a 
desert breeze having almost obliterated the 
tracks her pony made on the way out with Hi 
Lang and Hippy Wingate. To make certain 
that she was on the right road, Grace got down 
and compared her mount’s footprints with those 
that she was following. 

‘‘Yes, I am positive that I am right,” she 
decided and once more set out. “Hark!” she 
exclaimed sharply. 

Three faraway shots had been fired. Grace 
waited, and in a few moments the shots were re- 
peated. She raised her revolver and fired three 
signal shots in return. She did this twice, then 
reloaded and thrust the revolver into its holster. 

“It is doubtful if my shots can be heard, but 
I have the satisfaction of knowing that some 
one probably is out looking for me. We’ll go 
in under our own power. They shan’t say that 
we could not find our way home in broad day- 
light.” 

The rifle signal shots were repeated shortly 
after Grace got started again. She answered 
them, but was unable to tell from which direc- 
tion the signals had come, though the shots 
sounded otf to the right of her, but she decided 


124 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


to continue on in the direction she had chosen, 
however, believing that she was headed towards 
the camp. 

It was nearly noon when Grace discovered a 
horseman far to the right. He was too far 
away to be recognized, and, evidently, he had 
not seen her. 

The Overland girl fired three shots into the 
air, which were answered by a similar signal, 
then the distant rider was seen to turn and gal- 
lop towards her. Grace headed for him, riding 
more slowly than she had been doing, and finally 
discovering that the horseman was Hi Lang. 

Despite the confidence that Grace had felt in 
her ability to find her way in, she experienced 
a sense of relief. Now he would compliment 
her on her ability to find her way on a trackless 
waste such as this. 

Where have you beenT^ shouted Hi when 
near enough to make his voice heard. 

‘H went after Miss Briggs’ pony, then got 
on the wrong trail, if there be such a thing as a 
trail on this landscape,” answered Grace. 

‘‘WeVe been worrying about you. Did you 
get lost?” 

^‘Well, not exactly. I was puzzled at first, 
but I was following my trail back towards the 
camp when you discovered me, or when I dis- 
covered you, to be exact.” 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 125 


‘‘Hm — — m — mused the guide. “Do 
you know where you were headed for when I 
first saw you?” 

“Why, yes. I told you. For the camp, was 
I not?” 

Hi shook his head. 

“If your canteen and rations had held out, 
and you^d kept on going the way you were 
headed, eventually you would have landed in 
Death Valley,” the guide informed her. 

“But I followed the tracks left by the pony I 
was riding, ’ ’ she protested. 

“I reckon you followed some other pony’s 
tracks, for I was on the trail of the hronc’ you 
are riding.” 

“Mr. Lang, as a plainswoman I fear I am a 
miserable failure,” complained the Overland 
girl. 

‘ ‘ On the contrary you are very much of a suc- 
cess. You did not get panic-stricken when you 
found you had lost us, but you used your head. 
You found and followed a trail that would have 
fooled me as it did you.” 

“Thank you! How many of the ponies did 
you find?” 

“All of ’em, lacking the one you have here; 
also found one that didn’t belong to us. We 
sent him adrift.” 

‘ ‘ Oh, I am so glad. Then you have Blackie. ’ ’ 


126 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


^^Yes. Let^s be going. Things at the camp 
are not very encouraging. Much of the equip- 
ment has been blo^vn away or buried, but that 
isn T the worst of the situation. ^ ^ 

‘‘You mean water!’’ questioned Grace, re- 
garding him inquiringly. 

“Yes. We haven’t been able to locate a tank 
to-day, and there isn’t more than a quart alto- 
gether left in the canteens. ’ ’ 

“What are we to do now!” asked Grace. 
“We’ve got to pull up stakes and move. All 
hands must search for water — search until 
water is found, and keep moving forward at the 
same time. If we don’t find it by night — ” 
,The guide shrugged his shoulders and clucked 
to his pony. Grace, her face refiecting the con- 
cern she felt, followed at a gallop and they were 
soon raising a cloud of dust on the baking 
desert. 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 127j 


CHAPTER XII 

A BITTER DISAPPOINTMENT 

A [WAN and considerably mussed up party 
of girls met Grace and the guide when the 
two rode into what was left of their camp. 
‘‘Well, here we are at last,’^ cried Grace 
cheerily. 

“We thought you were lost. How could you 
have missed such an opportunity T’ wondered 
Miss Briggs. 

“I did not miss it, Elfreda dear. I got beau- 
tifully lost and didn^t know it. Most persons 
when they get lost are very much alive to the 
fact, but I traveled on in blissful ignorance of 
the fact that I was headed straight for Death 
Valley.’’ 

“I wish you wouldn’t talk about it. Death 
Valley reminds me of the experience we had last 
night,” complained Emma. 

“Oh, then you have been to Death Valley?” 
questioned Anne. 

“No, I said — I mean I said — I mean I meant 
to have said that — ” 

“Let it go at that. You will get tongue-tied 


128 GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


if you keep on/’ warned Hippy Wingate. ‘‘We 
have something more serious on hand than to 
listen to your — ” 

‘ ‘ Yes, girls, ’ ’ interrupted Grace. ‘ ‘ Mr. Lang 
tells me that we must move on immediately, that 
we must find water, and that, too, without delay. 
What shape are we in with regard to equip- 
ment?” 

“We have our tents,” answered Elfreda. 

“Some cooking utensils, and our food, which 
Ping had the foresight to take to bed with him,” 
said Anne Nesbit whimsically. 

“Were the rifles saved?” 

“All secure, and the ammunition too,” re- 
plied Lieutenant Wingate. “I believe that a 
few blankets were blown away and lost, together 
with numerous odds and ends that weren’t 
nailed down. What could you expect with a 
wind strong enough to blow our horses far out 
on the desert. Got any water?” 

“I have some. Ho you mean to tell me, 
Hippy Wingate, that an old campaigner like 
yourself has drunk up all the water he had in 
his canteen, and in the face of a great drouth?” 
demanded Grace, trying hard not to smile. 

“Every last drop of it,” admitted Hippy. 
“But what’s a fellow to do when he is thirsty 
and his throat is cracking open?” 

“Use the precious stuff sparingly. Here! 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 129 


Take a sip from my canteen. Only a sip, Lieu- 
tenant. ’ ’ 

With the eyes of the entire party on him, 
Hippy dared not take more than enough water 
to moisten his throat. Grace then took the can- 
teen from him, passing it to Emma. 

^‘The same holds good for you, Emma,’’ she 
said. ^‘Take a sip and pass it along. What 
water is there may have to he our only supply 
all the rest of the afternoon. ’ ’ 

‘^That’s right, Mrs. Gray,” spoke up Hi 
Lang. ‘ ‘ Ping I ’ ’ 

‘‘Les?” 

‘‘Are you all packed and ready?” 

“Me helongee chop-chop,” answered Ping, 
meaning that he was ready to move. 

‘ ‘ Follow along behind us, but make those lazy 
burros keep close up. We don’t want to lose 
you and have to look all over the desert for you. 
Now, folks, please listen carefully to what I have 
to say. While I do not wish to alarm you, it is 
well that you thoroughly understand what our 
situation is. We must find water. You will all 
spread out with an interval of a hundred yards, 
say, between ponies, and scrutinize every foot 
of ground on either side. ’ ’ 

“Who goes where?” interrupted Emma. 

“Please be quiet,” rebuked Grace. 

“I am coming to that,” resumed the guide. 

9 Gi'ace JSarlowe on Desert 


130 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


‘‘Two things I wish you to look for, alkali crusts 
that may cover a tank, and discolorations on the 
desert. That is, if you find a spot darker than 
the prevailing color of the ground, that discol- 
oration may be the result of moisture. Do you 
get meT’ 

“Yes,’’ answered the Overlanders in chorus. 

“In the event of such a discovery, shout, or if 
I am too far away to hear your voice, fire one 
shot into the air. About the crusts that I spoke 
of, when you find one, hop off and break it in. 
You probably will not see water, even though it 
is there, but, after you have broken open the 
crust, thrust your head into the opening and 
sniff the air. ’ ’ 

“What we need is a thirsty bird dog in this 
outfit, ’ ’ observed Hippy, without the suggestion 
of a smile on his face. 

Hi Lang permitted himself a brief silent 
laugh. 

“What are we to sniff for?” questioned 
Emma in all seriousness. 

“For a damp odor. The air under the crust, 
too, will be perhaps a degree cooler than the 
outer air. If it is a dry tank you will get a dry, 
earthy odor that you cannot mistake. The one 
who finds water will, as I have suggested, shout 
or shoot. The others will hold their positions 
until I have investigated. 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 131 


* ‘ Another thing. Ponies familiar with desert 
conditions, as most of ours are, sometimes can 
smell water when they canT see it. If one of 
your animals suddenly bolts in a direction that 
you think he should not go, give him his head 
for a little way. He may lead you to water. 

‘‘Why didn’t I think to put a divining rod in 
my pocket?” chuckled Hippy. 

“You brought a sweet little parasol, that blew 
away on the wings of the storm,” reminded 
Nora. “Why didn’t you bring something use- 
ful while you were about it?” 

“Nora darling, didn’t I bring you along? 
What, tell me, could be more useful to this out- 
fit than your own beautiful little self ? ’ ’ 

“Go on, go on with ye! If there were a 
Blarney Stone here I’d throw it at ye !” rebuked 
Nora, laughing in spite of her effort to be stern, 
joined in her merriment by the other girls of the 
outfit. 

“Take your positions!” ordered the guide. 
“The lieutenant will take the center. To the 
right. Miss Dean, Miss Briggs. Left, Mrs. Nes- 
bit, Mrs. Wingate and Mrs. Gray. I will take 
the extreme right. You, Mrs. Gray, will look 
after the extreme left. Keep your formation 
as well as you can so that we do not straggle too 
much. All ready!” 

The Overland Riders swung themselves to 


132 GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


their saddles and moved to the positions as- 
signed to them, then started away, walking their 
ponies. Their line looked like a troop of cav- 
alry going into action, except that the horses 
moved listlessly. 

Emma found the first alkali tank, and getting 
oif, broke the crust and thrust her head in the 
opening. 

‘‘What do you find?’^ called Hippy. 

“Ugh! It smells like a rummage sale,” an- 
swered Miss Dean. 

‘ ‘ Dry ! ’ ’ announced Hippy. ‘ ‘ Move along. ’ ^ 

All along the line the girls were trying to 
make merry, trying to forget the terrible heat, 
a deadly burning heat, but their efforts in this 
direction were not very successful. 

Heat waves shimmered over the white sands 
of the desert with not a breath of air stirring to 
relieve the deadly monotony. It did not seem 
possible to Elfreda Briggs that human beings 
long could endure such heat, and she wondered 
at the cheerfulness of her companions. 

Hi Lang rode around behind the line of 
riders to see what it was that Emma Dean had 
discovered, but he paused at the dry water hole 
for but a moment, then hurried back to his posi- 
tion. Now and then one of the riders would dis- 
mount and examine a patch of ground, only to 
meet with disappointment. 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 133 


They had come up to a vast cup-like depres- 
sion in the desert, white with the alkali crust 
that covered its bottom, when Hi fired a signal 
shot to indicate that they were to halt for a rest. 

‘‘What is that big holeT’ called Lieutenant 
.Wingate. 

“A prehistoric lake, in whose alkaline dust no 
plant, not even sage-brush, can grow, and upon 
which a puddle of rainwater becomes an almost 
deadly poison. This is one of the most thor- 
oughly hated spots on the desert, hated and 
shunned by most of those who travel this way.’^ 

“Is there not water under the crust at the 
bottom!’’ asked Miss Dean. 

“Not a drop. There probably has not been 
in centuries. No water is known to have been 
found within a few miles of this spot either, but, 
as I have said, one never knows, and the trav- 
eler must take nothing for granted.” 

“Fine place for a summer outing,” observed 
Hippy. 

“Probably there is on all the globe no other 
spot more forbidding, more desolate, more 
deadly, ’ ’ added the guide. “ We must be going. 
Move on!” 

All that afternoon the Overland Riders 
plodded wearily along, now and then hopes sud- 
denly raised being dashed to earth by dry water 
holes. At the next halt. Hi passed along the 


134 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


line, giving each rider a sip of water from the 
slender supply in his canteen, Grace smilingly 
declining to drink. 

‘‘Have you any left in your canteen?’^ he 
asked. 

“A few drops, but I am saving them until I 
am thirsty, I have been sucking the cork for 
the last hour. ’ ’ Grace then asked about the dry 
lake, and the guide repeated what he had said 
to Emma and Hippy. 

“How are the girls standing the strain she 
questioned. 

“Very well indeed. I hope they hold out as 
well until we find water. ’ ^ 

“Now that there is no one but ourselves pres- 
ent, please tell me what the prospects are?’’ re- 
quested Grace. 

“I can’t, Mrs. Gray, for the very good reason 
that I don’t know. Of course water we must 
have or we shall perish, and so will the ponies. 
As a last resort we can head for the nearest 
mountain range, but it would take us nearly two 
days to make it with ponies and riders in good 
working condition.” 

“Then the situation really is serious?” asked 
Grace. 

“No, not yet, but we are on the verge of a 
serious situation. Yes, that about expresses it. 
However, I have hopes that we may find a tank 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 135 


about ten miles from here, one that I have never 
failed to find some water in, though at times it 
has been a mighty slow process to get it. I must 
get to the other end of the line now. Good 
luck.’’ 

Several tanks were found during the next few 
hours, but not a drop of water in any of them. 
It fell to Emma Dean to make a discovery, how- 
ever, that thrilled all within sound of her voice. 

‘‘Water!” she screamed. “Water!” 

“I believe you are right. Hooray!” shouted 
Hippy Wingate. 

‘ ‘ I know I am. It ’s a lake, a lake full of beau- 
tiful blue water!” cried Emma. “Quick! 
Shoot to let the others know. ’ ’ 

Instead of the agreed-upon single shot as the 
signal that water had been found. Hippy Win- 
gate emptied his revolver into the air, then, urg- 
ing on his weary pony, rode on ahead, with 
Emma following, shouting and urging her pony 
to go faster that she and Hippy might reach the 
precious water ahead of the others. Even 
Hippy was excited at the sight that had burst 
so unexpectedly on his smarting eyes, for there, 
a mile or so ahead, surely was a body of water 
that the guide himself had not known of or he 
surely would have told them. 

Attracted by the shots. Hi Lang looked, first 
in the direction from which the shots had come. 


136 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


then off across the desert. What he saw led 
him to head towards Hippy and Emma, who 
themselves were traveling as fast as they could 
make their ponies go. 

Some of the other Overland Riders had fol- 
lowed Emma and Hippy, they too having dis- 
covered the blue lake in the near distance. 

The guide fired into the air, to recall the ex- 
cited riders, but they gave no heed to his signal. 

‘‘Stop!^^ he shouted when near enough to 
make himself heard. ‘‘Stop, I say! You’ll 
run your ponies to death. ’ ’ 

“Water! Don’t you see it?” cried Emma. 

“ No ! That isn ’t water. Stop, I say ! ” 

“The heat has gone to Hi’s head,” laugh- 
ingly confided Hippy to Emma. “All right, old 
man, just trail along behind us and we’ll show 
you, ” he flung back. 

“Stop, Lieutenant! Listen to reason, won’t 
you? What you see is a desert mirage. There 
isn’t a lake within a hundred miles of us.” 

Hippy Wingate brought his pony to a slow 
stop, and Emma, who had heard, stopped about 
the same time. 

‘ ‘ Mirage ? ’ ’ wondered Hippy stupidly. 

“M — ^m — ^mister Lang, do — do you me — ean 
that wha — at we see isn’t wa — ater at all?” 

“It’s a mirage, I tell you. Get back to your 
positions ! ’ ’ 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 137 


CHAPTER XIII 

A STAKTLING ALABM 

E LFREDA BRIGGS and Grace Harlowe 
did not give way to the panic that had 
seized their companions. Both had seen 
the mirage, each knew instinctively what it was, 
but when they saw Hi Lang overhaul the two 
leaders, Grace and Elfreda hurried in from 
their positions and joined their companions. 

‘‘Grace! Oh, Grace,’’ moaned Emma as her 
friend rode up to them. “Give me water or I 
shall die.” 

“Have courage, Emma dear. We are all suf- 
fering from thirst. Hand me your cup and I 
will give you a swallow. I don’t dare trust you 
with the canteen. ’ ’ 

Grace poured out about a tablespoonful of 
water, which Emma drank in one choking gulp. 
Each of the others got about the same quantity, 
but it was not much of a relief. 

“Shall I return to my position now, sir?” 
questioned Grace of the guide. 

“Yes, please. I have told the others to do so 
at once. Hereafter, in no circumstances are 


138 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


you people to run away as you did just now. 
We must go on as rapidly as is consistent, until 
dark. I wish to reach a certain point before we 
stop for the night. We may find some relief 
there unless the storm has buried everything so 
deep that we cannot find the place,” said Hi 
Lang. 

‘‘Do you mean water?” asked Elfreda. 

“I am in hopes that it may be so. Miss 
Briggs.” 

*^Alors! Let’s go!” 

The party broke up at once and rode to their 
positions, Emma Dean, red of face, her hair 
down her back, tear drops still trickling down 
her cheeks, leaving little furrows behind them, 
summoning all her courage and doing her best 
to regain control of herself. 

The mirage had disappeared by the time the 
start was made, and did not appear again to 
tantalize the suffering Overland Riders. All 
the rest of the afternoon, eager eyes, reddened 
by the glare of the sun on the white desert, 
sought for water holes. None were found, not 
even dry tanks, but when darkness settled over 
the desert a faint breeze sprung up. They 
drank it in eagerly, taking long, deep breaths 
and uttering sighs of satisfaction. 

Hi called the party together with a signal 
shot. 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 139 


“How long before we make campT^ called 
Grace as she rode up. 

“About five miles if my reckoning is right/ ^ 
answered the guide. “No need to look for 
water holes now that it is dark. We shanT find 
any unless we accidentally fall into one.’^ 

“You are about the most cheerful prophet 
I’ve ever known, ’ ’ declared Lieutenant Wingate. 
“Glad you weren’t with us in the war.” 

“At least, Mr. Lang has made good all his 
forecasts. You must admit that,” reminded 
Miss Briggs. 

“He has, bad luck to him!” growled Hippy, 
which brought a grin to the thin, bronzed face 
of the desert guide. 

It was nearly ten o’clock when Hi finally or- 
dered a halt. The Riders, upon looking about 
them, observed that there was considerable 
vegetation there, sage, cactus, dwarfed trees 
and shrubbery, scattered, twisted, misshapen 
things, all of them. 

“Turn the ponies, loose immediately,” di- 
rected the guide. ^ ^ They will get a little 
moisture from the green stuff. Never mind 
staking down. They will not run away. Ping, 
start a fire and cook something. Sorry, folks, 
but it will have to be a dry supper this time.” 

“Where is that relief you were promising us 
a century or so ago?” demanded Nora Wingate. 


140 


GRACE HARLOWE 


‘‘Yes, Mr. Lang, have been patient and 
borne our thirst uncomplainingly. Now, we 
must have relief. I don’t want a dry supper, I 
want water ! ’ ’ cried Emma. 

Anne said she feared that she too had about 
reached her limit. 

“Be patient, girls. Mr. Lang is doing the 
best he can, ’ ’ urged Grace. 

“Yes, don’t we know that!” agreed Miss 
Briggs. “He is splendid. I hope these unso- 
licited compliments do not turn your head, Mr. 
Lang,” teased Elfreda. 

The guide laughed silently. 

“Come with me. We can pitch our tents 
later on,” he directed, striding away. He led 
them through mesquite bushes, finally halting 
before a patch of odd, pumpkin-shaped cactus, 
that, with its grotesque shape, its spines and fish- 
hooks, was far from being attractive-looking. 

Hi’s knife was out as he halted, and, with it, 
he laid open a cactus plant, revealing to the 
eager eyes of his charges a silver-white pulp 
glistening with water. 

‘ ‘ This will relieve your thirst, ’ ’ he said, hand- 
ing the white, moist mass to Emma. 

“Oh — h — ^h — h!” gasped Miss Dean. “This 
is heavenly.” 

To each of the others Hi gave a handful of 
pulp. 



*^01i — — ^h! This Is Heavenly.’* 

141 



142 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


^‘Nectar straight from Heaven,’^ murmured 
Elfreda at her first taste. ‘‘Who would think 
that so much heavenliness could come from such 
a hideous plant, so hideous that, were I alone, it 
would give me the shivers to look atV^ 

Uttering exclamations of satisfaction and de- 
light, the Overland girls ate and ate, soothing 
their throats and satisfying their thirst. 

“Please tell us what this is, Mr. Lang,’' asked 
Grace. 

“It is the bisnaga, sometimes called the ‘nig- 
gerhead, ’ belonging to the cactus family, a plant 
that is ever hailed with joy by the thirsty trav- 
eler. ’ ’ 

“It’s a life saver,” agreed Lieutenant Win- 
gate. “Where is that Chinaman? Doesn’t he 
ever get thirsty?” 

“Don’t worry about him. He is out there in 
the bushes now, swallowing ‘niggerheads’ as 
fast as he can gulp them down. This is one of 
the secrets of the desert. There are others — 
but a man must know them before he can take 
advantage of them.” 

‘ ‘ Tell us about them. I just dote on secrets, ’ ’ 
exclaimed Emma, her good nature now fully 
restored. 

“They might answer for an emergency, but 
nothing short of real food would answer for 
me,” declared Hippy. 


GEEAT AMEEICAN DESEET 143 


Just the same a man might live on what we 
see before us here for a long time,” replied the 
guide. ‘^If you will examine those mesquite 
bushes you will find a bean pod on them. It is 
a rich and nourishing food. Then there are the 
pears of the tuna and the fruit of the sahuaro 
or giant cactus. ’ ^ 

‘‘We saw a forest of them on the Apache 
Trail, ’ ^ Grace informed him. 

“ Yes, I know. Y ou will find all of these nour- 
ishing foods about you here, hideous, some of 
them, but furnishing food and water that have 
saved the lives of many desert travelers. 

“Besides these food plants of the desert, we 
have the cat^s-claw, mesquite and cJiolla shrubs 
for fuel; the bear-grass and yuccas for camp- 
building. Better than a mirage, is it not. Miss 
Dean?” 

Emma flushed. 

“I don’t know about that. The sight of that 
lake that wasn’t a lake made me forget for the 
moment that I was thirsty,” answered Emma 
spiritedly. 

The Chinaman’s shrill call for supper 
sounded while they were still talking. The 
girls, now greatly refreshed, turned camp ward 
and sat down on the ground to eat “poisoned 
pig,” as Hippy Wingate had named the bacon 
with its bitter alkaline taste. 


144 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


‘H fear we are forgetting that we still are 
without water/ ^ reminded Grace after they had 
finished their supper, feeling more like them- 
selves than at any time in the last two days. 

‘‘DonT throw a monkey-wrench in the ma- 
chinery, ’ ’ begged Hippy. ^ ‘Let ^s live while the 
living is good, and die when we haven T any- 
thing else to do. ’ ^ 

‘ ‘ Grace is quite right, ’ ^ agreed Anne. ‘ ‘ I am 
worrying about to-morrow myself. ’ ’ 

“I have been thinking it over,’’ spoke up Hi 
Lang. “I believe I will go out early in the 
morning and ride until noon. I can cover a lot 
of ground in that time, and if I do not find 
water, the chances are against our getting any 
in the direction we are going. In that event we 
will head for the mountains and fight our way 
through. I never knew so many water holes to 
fail, but the storm is largely responsible for that 
condition. ’ ’ 

“Why didn’t we bring an artesian well with 
us? I have heard that one could have water 
anywhere with one of those. Are they very 
heavy to carry?” asked Emma innocently. 

A shout greeted her question, and the guide 
brushed a hand across his mouth to hide his 
silent laughter. 

“What ’s the matter ? Have I said something 
funny?” demanded Emma, bristling. 


GEEAT AMEEICAN DESEET 145 


‘‘That would be impossible/^ answered 
Hippy “No, Emma Dean, an artesian well 
would be no burden to carry at all if one were 
able to solve the problem of how to carry it. 
All the makings are right here, too. Hi, why 
didnT you bring a medium-sized artesian well 
with you? I am amazed that you would neglect 
to find a way to bring one along, rebuked 
Hippy. 

“You are all making fun of me. I think you 
are real mean,’’ pouted Emma. 

“We’re not,” protested Hippy. 

“Yes, he is, dear. Hippy, stop teasing 
Emma. She is worn out and irritable. By the 
way, Mr. Lang, what is an artesian well? ” asked 
Nora, which brought down another shout of 
laughter, this time at her expense. 

“I’m not irritable,” objected Emma. 

“An artesian well is a hole in the ground, 
Miss Dean,” the guide gravely informed her. 

“I’m going to bed!” announced Emma, get- 
ting up. “Am I to sleep in the open, or do we 
have tents to cover us to-night ? ’ ’ she asked with 
much dignity. 

‘ ‘ Ping will pitch the tents. He is getting out 
the canvas now,” replied Grace. “Before I 
turn in I am going out to eat some more ‘nigger- 
heads. ’ Any one going with me ? ’ ’ 

All signified their desire to have more of the 

10 Grace Harlorce on Desert 


146 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


luscious white pulp, and in a few moments they 
were gorging themselves among the hisnagas. 

The moon was now well along in its first quar- 
ter, and in the cool of the evening the Overland 
girls were in a frame of mind to appreciate and 
enjoy the scene. 

^‘The desert has a strange and beguiling 
beauty all its own, ^ ^ murmured Grace. 

‘‘Yes,’’ agreed Elfreda. “Such an evening 
as this makes one forget the awful heat, and 
lays hold of one’s spirit. Then the silence — 
no whistling of wind, no rustling of leaves. 
Why, I find myself holding my breath so as not 
to break the silence. ’ ’ 

“I had not observed it,” retorted Grace, pre- 
senting a smiling face to her companion. ‘ ‘ The 
oamp should be ready by now. I move we go 
back and turn in. ’ ’ 

“The mystery of it all, too,” added Elfreda, 
turning to walk to the camp. 

The guide told them not to be concerned at 
his absence if he did not get in until late on the 
following day, and the Overland Riders sought 
their blankets for a rest which all needed. 

The night passed without one of the girls 
moving, so far as any of them could remember, 
when they were rudely awakened next morning. 

Shouts and yells from Hippy Wingate, and a 
scream from Emma Dean, brought Grace, El- 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 147 


freda, Anne and Nora to their feet, hurriedly 
throwing on sufficient clothing to make them- 
selves presentable. 

^ ‘ Girls ! Hurry, hurry ! ^ ’ shrieked Emma. 

‘‘Coming! Hold fastl’^ shouted Elfreda 
Briggs, running out ahead of the others. 


CHAPTER XIV 

THE MYSTEBIOUS HOBSEMAN 

TT^OR mercy sake, what is iiV^ cried El- 
freda. 

Emma was dancing about in a high 
state of excitement. 

‘ ‘ Hippy ’s gone down 1 Hippy ’s gone down ! ’ ^ 
she cried. 

“Gone down where demanded Grace, ap- 
pearing on the scene at that juncture. 

“He must have gone very suddenly, for I 
surely heard him yell less than five minutes 
ago,’^ averred Elfreda. 

“Look, look!’^ urged Emma, pointing to 
Hippy ^s tent, only the top of which was visible 
above the ground. 

Grace was already running towards the tent, 
believing she knew just what the trouble was. 


148 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


“Hippy, are you there ? ^ ’ she called. 

“I am that, what’s left of me,” answered a 
voice that sounded some distance away. 

“Are you hurt?” 

“No, Brown Eyes, I am not hurt. Please 
clear away the wreckage, so we can see what we 
have here.” 

Grace and Elfreda hauled the tent out of the 
hole in the alkali crust and peered in. Hippy 
was sitting at the bottom, about five feet below 
the surface, and the instant Grace thrust her 
head into the opening she uttered a cry. 

“Water I ” she exclaimed. ^ ^ I smell it ! ” 

“I tasted it when I landed on my head in the 
wet sand, ’ ’ answered Hippy. ‘ ‘ It was good, but 
I’d a heap sight rather drink my water standing. 
One doesn’t take in so much sand that way.” 

“Wa — ater!” gasped Emma Dean. “And it 
isn’t another mirage?” 

“It is water, my dear, but how much of a sup- 
ply there is remains to be seen. What were you 
doing out so early?” 

“I was going out to get some water food from 
that horrible looking pumpkin plant, or what- 
ever it is. ’ ’ 

^ ‘ Ping I Oh, Ping I Fetch the water buckets. 
Hurry 1 Mr. Lang has gone, so we must do what 
is to be done before the water disappears. 
What happened. Hippy?” asked Grace. 


GEEAT AMERICAN DESERT 149 


‘‘This did, Brown Eyes. I turned over on 
my blanket, then the earth yawned and swal- 
lowed me down. I slid in head first. ’ ^ 

“Here are the buckets and the canvas. I 
think I will get down there and assist you. 
Girls, drink your fill, then water the ponies. 
No, you carry the water out and let Ping do the 
watering. ’ ^ 

Hippy assisted Grace down. She dropped to 
her knees and immediately began digging in 
the sand, which was wet and sticky. With 
Hippy ^s aid, she patted the canvas blanket down 
as she had seen Hi Lang do it, and in a moment 
the water began seeping through. Grace ob- 
served that it seeped much more rapidly than 
when the guide had performed a similar opera- 
tion. 

“Buckets!’’ demanded Hippy. 

They were lowered, and, in a few moments,, 
half a dozen of them were filled and handed up 
to the outstretched hands waiting to receive 
them. 

“This is splendid! I wish Mr. Lang were 
here. Too bad,” said Grace . 

“Might it not be a good idea for us to fire 
signal shots to recall him? He may be within 
hearing. Sound carries a long distance on the 
desert,” suggested Miss Briggs. 

“Fine, J. Elfreda. Will you fire the shots? 


150 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


Miss Briggs said she would, and, in a few mo- 
ments, three interval shots rang out. Elfreda 
hred the signal six times, listening after each 
signal for a reply. None was heard, however, 
and Grace suggested that she wait half an hour 
or so, then try it again. 

The baling went on, but the ponies and burros 
drank the water faster than Grace and Hippy 
could get it out of the tank and pass it up to 
those who were carrying water to Ping who was 
giving it to the horses, singing as he worked. 
This was the happy refrain he sang : 

Look-see you bucket, Tore you tly. 

Got lopee (rope) ^nuf to pump ’um dly. 

One piecee mouse can dlink at liver. 

But let he mousey tly for ever. 

All he can do top-sidee shore 

Is squinch (quench) he t ^hirst an ’ nuffin more. ’ ’’ 

‘‘Every ‘r^ is an ‘P with a Chinaman,’’ 
laughed Anne. 

‘ ‘ That is what makes their pidgin English so 
quaint,” answered Miss Briggs. 

“Ping says the horses don’t care for any 
more water,” announced Nora, returning with 
two empty buckets. 

‘ ‘ Pass them down, ’ ’ directed Hippy. “We will 
fill everything in camp, including ourselves.” 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 151 


When they had finished with their work, the 
familiar, ^‘Him come along,’’ in Ping Wing’s 
shrill voice, brought Hippy out of the water 
hole in a hurry. 

‘^Are you going to leave me down here, 
Hippy Wingate, or are you going to assist me 
out?” reminded Grace. 

^‘A thousand pardons I The thought of food 
drives every other thought from my mind.” 
Hippy reached down and gave Grace a hand. 

‘‘Please fire another set of signal shots,” 
suggested Grace, shaking out her skirt to free 
it from the damp sand. “Mr. Lang will be sur- 
prised when he finds that we have a water tank 
right here in camp. I hope he hears our shots. ’ ’ 

Elfreda, having shot into the air six times, 
put down her rifle and joined her companions. 

“Oh, doesn’t that coffee smell good?” she 
cried. “A warm drink is even more necessary 
out here than it is in the city. I hope we never 
have another such a dry time as we have just 
experienced.” 

“Listen!” warned Grace, holding up a hand 
for silence. 

The reports of two rifle shots were faintly 
borne to their ears. 

“That’s a signal. I heard the first a second 
before I spoke. Answer them, Elfreda.” 

Miss Briggs sprang up and fired the rifle 


152 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


three times. An answer came in the form of 
three reports that plainly were from a long dis- 
tance away. 

^‘That must he Mr. Lang. I am glad/’ said 
Grace, her face lighting np in a pleased smile. 

‘^Him come along,” announced Ping a few 
moments later, using the elastic expression that 
stood for the dinner call, as well as to indicate 
that some one was approaching. 

The Overland girls stood up and, shading 
their eyes, gazed otf over the desert. They saw 
a horseman approaching, but the pony he was 
riding appeared to be almost dragging himself 
along. 

‘^That isn’t Lang,” exclaimed Hippy, 
see it isn’t,” agreed Grace. 

Being a lone rider the Overlanders knew they 
were safe from trouble so far as he was con- 
cerned, but they observed the rider narrowly as 
he neared the camp. 

^‘Ping! Fetch water!” ordered Grace in- 
cisively. ‘ ^ That man and horse are exhausted. ’ ’ 
Water I” cried the man hoarsely as he rode 
up to them and would have fallen from his 
saddle had Hippy not sprung forward and 
grabbed him. He placed the exhausted man on 
the ground, and raising the rider ’s head, held a 
canteen to his lips. 

‘‘Take it easy, old top. Don’t choke your- 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 153 


self. We have plenty, but you mustn’t try to 
drink it all at once,” admonished Lieutenant 
Wingate. 

‘‘Get food,” directed Grace. “Coffee and 
whatever else you think he can eat. ’ ’ 

Ping glided away to prepare the food, Nora 
and Anne, in the meantime, having brought 
water for the traveler’s pony. 

In a few moments the man sat up, holding his 
head in his hands. 

‘ ‘ Here, bathe your face. It will cool you off, ’ ^ 
urged Elfreda. The traveler did so, and, by the 
time the coffee was ready, he was able to stand. 

Ping had fried some bacon, and, with the cof- 
fee and biscuit, the traveler had a meal the like 
of which he had not eaten for many a long day. 
As yet, the man had spoken only one word — 
“water” — ^but he regarded the outfit with wide, 
inquiring eyes, as he ate greedily of the food, 
placed before him. 

“Where going?” he asked after finishing. 

“Specter Range, I believe. Perhaps taking 
in the Shoshones. I am not certain. Our 
guide. Hi Lang, is not here just now.” 

‘ ‘ Bad gang there. Drove me out. Will drive 
you out.” He would say no more, shaking his 
head when Grace pressed him for an explana- 
tion. After an hour’s rest, during which the 
caller drank water until they feared for its ef- 


154 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


feet on Mm, he filled his water bags from the 
water hole and lashed them to his pony and 
mounted. Elfreda handed him a chunk of 
bacon, which he acknowledged with a nod, and 
stuifed it into his kit. 

The traveler now threw back his shoulders 
'and peered at each member of the outfit in turn, 
as if to impress their faces on his mind, then 
swept off his sombrero. 

^‘Thankee, folks,” he said, and, putting spurs 
to his pony, galloped away. 

‘‘There is one man to whom it would be per- 
fectly safe to entrust a secret,” declared Miss 
Briggs with emphasis. 

“What a strange character,” murmured 
Anne, as she gazed after the galloping pony. 
“I wonder who he can be.” 

“I am curious to know what he meant by 
warning us against the mountains,” interjected 
Elfreda Briggs. 

“And I am rather concerned about Mr. 
Lang,” added Grace. “He must be a long 
way from here, else he would have heard our 
signal shots. I have an idea that our late caller 
must have heard them and that it was he who 
answered. That must be it. If so I am glad, 
for the poor fellow was ready to drop and so 
was his horse. Shall we fill the buckets?” 

They did. The ponies were thirsty again. 


GEEAT AMEEICAN DESEET 155 


and it required several bucketfuls to satiate 
their thirst, after which everything fillable was 
filled with water. Grace, to pass away the time, 
got out her lasso and tried to throw it, but she 
made a complete failure. In turn, each of the 
others tried their hand at throwing the rope, 
but with no better success. Ping offered him- 
self for a mark, chattering like a magpie as, 
each time, the loop of the lasso collapsed before 
reaching him. 

‘‘What for you makee so fashion?’’ he cried 
between laughs, chuckles and grimaces. 

“Never mind. Ping. You will not talkee ‘so 
fashion’ one day. When I learn to throw the 
rope, which I shall, I will rope you when you are 
not looking,” threatened Grace. 

“No can do,” grinned the Chinaman. “Eai 
yaJiI Man b’longey top-side horse,” he cried, 
pointing off over the desert. 

Looking in the direction in which he was 
pointing, the Overland girls saw in the far dis- 
tance a horseman, sitting his mount so motion- 
less that at first they were not positive whether 
it were a horseman or a distorted cactus plant. 

Grace ran for her binoculars and for some 
minutes studied the stranger. 

“That’s our caller,” suggested Hippy. 
‘ ‘ Maybe he has decided to hang around for an- 
other meal. I don’t know that I blame him.” 


156 GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


‘‘No, it is not tlie same man, at least not the 
same pony,’’ answered Grace, snapping her 
glasses shut. “The man yonder is riding a 
black pony. The one who called on us rode a 
nearly white animal. I can’t imagine why he is 
so interested, but he is surely watching us. 
However, we won’t worry so long as we have a 
water tank at hand.” 

At four 0 ’clock in the afternoon the mysteri- 
ous stranger was still in practically the same 
place. He appeared to move only when his pony 
stepped forward a few paces for more sagebrush. 

“Man b’longey top-side horse!” cried Ping, 
again pointing in another direction. 

The Overlanders saw a cloud of dust rolling 
toward them over the desert, ahead of the cloud 
being a horseman riding at a swift gallop. 

“This would seem to be our day at home, 
judging from the number of callers who are 
dropping in,” observed Elfreda. 

Grace threw up her glasses and took a quick 
look. 

“I can’t make him out,” she said. “It can’t 
be Mr. Lang, for this man is coming from a 
direction different from the one he took, if the 
footprints of his pony leading out of this camp 
are any indication. ’ ’ 

“Man b’longey horse hab go chop-chop!” 
volunteered Ping. 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 157 


Looking quickly toward the west the Over- 
landers were amazed to find that the silent 
horseman who had had them under observation 
for hours was no longer in view. Though not 
more than two or three minutes had elapsed 
since Grace Harlowe last saw him, he had dis- 
appeared as suddenly as if the sands of the 
desert had opened and taken him in. 

‘‘Maybe he has fallen into a tank, just as I 
did,’^ suggested Hippy. 

“Mr. Lang is coming. It is he, after all,’’ 
cried Grace joyously, as she gazed at the swiftly 
moving cloud of dust that Ping had called her 
attention to some moments before. 


CHAPTER XV 


D' 


THE GUIDE BEADS A DESEET TRAILi 

^ID you shoot!” called the guide, pull- 
ing his pony down sharply. 

Both pony and rider were gray 
from the desert dust, and the guide’s face was 
lined with perspiration streaks. It was plain 
that he had ridden hard and long. 

“Yes. Did you find water!” cried Emma. 

“I did, twenty miles or nigh that, from here. 


158 GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


What’s that?” he demanded, pointing to the 
water hole. 

^‘We have water, Mr. Lang,” Grace told him. 
‘‘Mr. Wingate fell through a crust and discov- 
ered a tank. There is water in plenty. We are 
so sorry that you had all that journey for noth- 
ing. Ping ! Water for Mr. Lang and a bucket- 
ful for his pony. How long since did you hear 
our signal shots?” 

“More’n an hour ago. I wasn’t certain, but 
I thought I heard three shots. My journey was 
not for nothing, for I have found a tank and 
there we will make our next camping place.” 
The guide paused to lift the bucket that Ping 
had fetched, and to drink deeply from it. 

“Who’s been here?” 

‘ ‘ What makes you think any one has ? ’ ’ teased 
Emma. 

‘ ‘ Plain as daylight. I followed a pony ’s trail 
in for more than two miles. There’s the tracks 
where he went away,” answered the guide 
quickly. 

“You surely have sharp eyes,” nodded El- 
freda. 

“He was one of those sphinxes, like some 
other deserts have. This one was not stuck 
fast to the ground like a regular sphinx, but his 
tongue must have been stuck to the roof of his 
mouth, for he couldn’t say any more words than 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 159 


a ten-month-old baby/’ declared Hippy Win- 
gate. 

“Tell me about him,” urged Hi, turning to 
Grace. 

The guide nodded understandingly after 
Grace had told him in detail of the arrival of 
the stranger, choking for a drink, and half fam- 
ished from hunger. 

“That’s like him.” 

“Like whom?” questioned Hippy. 

“Like the desert traveler. He is just one of 
those brainless fellows like myself, who would 
rather be out here, suffering, choking, dying by 
inches, than be at home surrounded by all the 
comforts that a home gives a man. Didn’t say 
what his name is, did he?” 

“No, sir. Let me see,” reflected Grace. 
“He said, ^ Water!’ Then, later, after asking 
where we were going, and being informed that 
we expected to visit the Specter Range and per- 
haps the Shoshones, he replied, ^Bad gang there. 
Drove me out. Will drive you out.’ As he left 
he said, ‘Thankee, folks.’ To the best of my 
recollection he opened his mouth at no other 
time, except to eat and drink. ’ ’ 

“Hm — m — ^m — ^m,” mused the guide. “In 
the Specters, eh?” 

“I don’t know whether he referred to them or 
to the Shoshones,” answered Grace. 


160 . GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


^‘Didn’t say where he was goingT’ 

‘‘No, sir. Can you tell us, Mr. Lang, why it 
is that desert lovers like yourself, and like the 
stranger who was here, as a more extreme case, 
are so silent, so taciturn and ever listening for 
something? What is it they are listening for ? ^^ 
“I reckon they take after nature herself out 
here. When a man is alone on this big desert 
he feels very small, and speaking out or raising 
a fellow ^s voice seems as much of a sacrilege as 
speaking out loud in church when the preacher ^s 
praying. As for listening, I donT know, but 
maybe we listen for the sounds that we are 
so used to hearing at home, the rustle of leaves, 
the song of a bird, but all we ever hear out here 
in the daytime is now and then the buzz of a 
rattler ^s tail. We don’t always shoot ’em be- 
cause we sort of hate to make so much noise. I 
reckon that isn’t much of an explanation, 
but — ” 

“I call it very fine,” nodded Elfreda. “By 
the way, Mr. Lang, we had another caller, a dis- 
tant caller to-day. He didn’t come near the 
camp, but sat his pony for several hours appar- 
ently observing us. Perhaps he was resting.” 

Hi Lang’s face showed his interest. He 
asked questions and frowned thoughtfully, re- 
questing that they point out as closely as pos- 
sible the spot at which the man had been seen. 


GEEAT AMERICAN DESERT 161 


‘‘You say lie disappeared suddenly 

“Yes, Mr. Lang,’’ answered Grace. 

“Was that when I was coming up?” 

“You were.” 

“He evidently saw me and ducked. There’s 
a high ridge of sand over there where you saw 
him. He was on that ridge or you wouldn’t 
have seen him, and when he discovered me he 
just naturally slid his pony down the other side 
and walked away under cover of the ridge or 
else got down and peeked over the top of it. I 
don’t like that. You weren’t thinking of going 
on to-night, were you ? ’ ’ 

“Not unless you think best, Mr. Lang,” re- 
plied Grace. 

“Then I reckon I’ll ride over there in the 
morning and see what his tracks look like. To- 
morrow night we’ll make camp by the water 
hole I found to-day, unless some other party 
comes along and dips the water all out or it dis- 
appears between now and then.” 

“Did you answer our signal shots that you 
say you thought you heard?” asked Hippy. 

“Of course I did, though I didn’t think you 
would hear them, being as there was a gentle 
breeze from this direction against me. I staked 
the ponies down before I went away this morn- 
ing, and that black bronco of yours gave me 
some trouble, Mrs. Gray. I had to lasso him. 

11 Grace Harlowe on Desert 


162 GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


When are you going to learn to throw the 

roper^ 

When are you going to teach meT’ returned 
Grace smilingly. 

‘^That^s the talk. We ^11 begin right now. 
Get your rope. ^ ’ 

Grace was instructed first how to coil the 
rope, how to make the loop and to properly 
grasp it by its hondo, or knot, before throwing ; 
then the real lesson began. 

It was sorry work for her at first, but by the 
time Ping uttered his shrill call for supper, 
Grace had learned to throw the rope and let 
the loop drop to the ground without destroying 
the forru of the loop. Hi announced that, on the 
morrow, she should be able to hit a mark on the 
ground but that considerable practice would be 
necessary before she would be able to rope an 
object that was in motion. 

Supper was followed by an interesting eve- 
ning, during which Hi Lang told the Overland 
girls more of the desert secrets. 

‘‘We are now in the skunk country,’’ he said, 
as they were about to turn in. 

“The what?” demanded Emma Dean. 

“I do not mean the sort you probably are 
familiar with in the east. The desert skunk is 
an entirely different animal. He bites, and his 
bite is supposed to produce hydrophobia, which 


GEEAT AMEEICAN DESERT 163 


means death out here. He is, therefore, known 
as the hydrophobia skunk. Go into any desert 
camp just before turning-in time and you will 
hear the desert wanderers speaking of rattle- 
snakes and skunks. Every man who knows 
those two pests is actually afraid of them.’^ 

‘^This is a fine time of day to tell us,’^ com- 
plained Nora. 

^ ‘ That ^s what I say, ’ ^ wailed Emma. ‘ ^ Why 
didnT you tell us after breakfast instead of 
after supper 

‘^Yes. I know I shall dream of snakes and 
skunks and other creeping, crawling things to- 
night,’’ added Anne. 

Hi laughed silently, masking his mouth with 
a hand. 

‘ ‘ String a rope all the way around your tent 
on the ground. No snake will go over that, 
especially a horsehair rope. Your lasso is the 
thing for that, Mrs. Gray. I will have Ping 
keep the fire going and that will keep the skunks 
away. The insects and other creeping things 
we can’t stop, so we shall have to take our 
chances with them. Sorry, but it was necessary 
to tell you. If you are going to be desert trav- 
elers you must learn the desert.” 

‘‘You are perfectly right, Mr. Lang,” nodded 
Grace. “I am very glad you have told us so 
much to-night, especially about skunks and 


164 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


snakes. I will lay my lasso around the tent and 
sleep in perfect security. Girls, let^s turn in.^^ 

Emma dreamed of snakes that night and had 
nightmare, crying out in her sleep and getting 
a violent shaking from Elfreda Briggs as her 
reward. Otherwise, the night was peacefully 
passed. 

Early on the following morning, before any 
of the outfit was awake, except Ping, who 
seemed never to sleep. Hi Lang had caught up 
his pony and ridden out on the desert and on to 
the spot at which the girls had seen the mys- 
terious horseman the day before. Hi readily 
found the hoof-prints of the pony ridden by the 
man, and examined them with keen interest. 
He observed other features of the trail that 
might easily have escaped even a desert wan- 
derer’s observation, and that told him much. 

‘H reckon there’s going to be some lively do- 
ings before we’ve got to the end of this jour- 
ney, ’ ’ muttered the guide, assuming a listening 
attitude, with head tilted to one side, eyes fixed 
on the blue sky overhead. He stood motionless 
in that position for many minutes. Finally 
arousing himself from his reverie. Hi mounted 
his pony and galloped away towards the camp, 
reaching there some time before the Riders 
were awake. Grace Harlowe appeared about 
an hour later, and walked out over the desert a 


GEEAT AMEEICAN DESEET 165 


short distance, inhaling the sweet morning air 
in long, delicious breaths. 

‘‘What is it that smells so sweets’ she called 
to the guide, who was busying himself about the 
camp, for there was a new and strangely sweet 
fragrance in the air. 

“That^s another of the desert mysteries. 
Supposed to have been rain somewhere. It’s 
like a breath straight from heaven. I love it ! ” 
Hi straightened up, and, throwing back his 
shoulders, inhaled deeply. 

Grace was thoughtful as she returned to 
camp, but it was not of the desert she was 
thinking. Eather was it of the man who was 
guiding them. He was a poet by nature, but 
did not know it. He was intelligent and he pos« 
sessed a mind and a power of reasoning far be- 
yond what one might look for in a man of his 
calling. 

“Was the morning perfume what induced you 
to take such an early ride, Mr. Lang?” asked 
Grace sweetly. 

The guide gave her a quick glance. 

“What makes you think I took a gallop this 
morning, Mrs. Gray ? ” 

“In the first place your pony is not tethered 
where he was last night, and, secondly, your 
trail, going and returning, is plain out there,” 
she said, with a gesture towards the desert. 


166 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


^‘You’re sharp/ ^ observed Hi briefly, and 
proceeded with his work without offering fur- 
ther information. Grace believed, however, 
that he had ridden out to look at the trail left 
by the solitary horseman who had been watch- 
ing their camp, but asked no further questions. 
Hi would speak when ready to do so ; that she 
knew. 

The Overlanders moved at an early hour and 
made camp that night at the water hole found 
by the guide the day before. Several pairs of 
keen eyes frequently swept the horizon during 
the day, and again on the following morning, 
for the mysterious horseman, but it was three 
days later before he was again seen in the dis- 
tance. 

“What^s the matter with my taking a shot at 
him I” demanded Lieutenant Wingate. 

answered the guide with emphasis. 
‘^Give the calf enough rope and hefll hang him- 
self. Saddle up and well ride that way and 
have a look at the trail again. ’ ’ 

The watcher disappeared as the Overlanders 
were saddling their ponies. As before, the 
guide made no comment after he had examined 
the hoof -prints left by the observer’s pony, and 
the journey was resumed. 

The days drew on, and the Overlanders, now 
more used to the hardships and heat of travel- 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 167 


ing on the desert, began to take a real pleasure 
in the work, to enjoy the free life and the ex- 
citement that came to them in one form or an- 
other nearly every day. Now and then a day 
would pass without water, hut they made the 
best of it, having confidence that Hi Lang would 
find it in time, no matter how dark the outlook. 
The mysterious horseman had appeared several 
times, always too far away to enable them to get 
a good look at him. Occasionally Hi would go 
out for a look at the pony’s trail, but it was not 
until they were nearing the mountain ranges, 
after three weeks of journeying across the hot 
sands, that the guide gave a direct answer to a 
direct question as to whether or not he knew 
what the mysterious one was up to. Hippy had 
asked the question when they were at supper 
one evening. 

don’t know what he’s up to, of course,’^ 
replied Hi Lang. do know that he is the 
same fellow who left the range after we folks 
were shot at there, for the hoof -prints of his 
pony are the same. He is watching us, and 
we’ll hear from him later,” he declared im- 
pressively. 


168 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


CHAPTER XVI 

THE CROSS ON THE DESERT 

TOU should have let me take a shot at 
I him when I had the chance, ’ ’ grumbled 
Hippy. 

‘ ^ Time enough to shoot when we are shot at, ’ ^ 
rebuked Grace. ^^We are not starting trouble, 
but when it comes we know how to meet it. Do 
we not, Mr. Lang ? ’ ^ 

Hi Lang nodded enthusiastically. 

Grace had been practicing persistently with 
her Mexican lasso, and was now beginning to 
learn to rope a pony. That is, she had suc- 
ceeded, when riding alongside a trotting pony 
who objected to being caught, in casting the 
lasso over its head, but so far as catching the 
hind foot of a moving bronco with her loop, that 
was far beyond her. Grace doubted if she ever 
would gain sufficient skill to do that. 

Elfreda, too, was an apt pupil and not far be- 
hind her companion in casting the rope. She 
was glorying in the life of the west, which was 
becoming more and more alluring to her as the 
days passed. 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 169 


“Two days more and we ^11 be in the foothills 
of the Specters. Maybe you will be able to rope 
a wildcat there, said the guide, smiling at the 
two girls. 

“Four- or two-legged inquired Hippy. 

“Possibly both. After we get cooled off in 
the mountains, if you folks think you wish to go 
on down into the Colorado Desert, I will show 
you some real desert heat. By comparison, 
this desert is as cool as a summer resort. ’ ’ 

Grace said they would discuss their future 
movements after they had rested up a bit in the 
mountains. All the girls were looking forward 
to the mountains where shade, spring water and 
cooling breezes awaited them. Some of them 
were filled with curiosity as to what else awaited 
them there, having in mind the prophecy of the 
desert rider whom they had succored. 

It was with thoughts of the mountains, and 
with eager eyes searching the horizon ahead, 
that the Overland Riders set out for their day’s 
journey on the following morning. A brief 
stop was made at noon for a cup of tea and bis- 
cuits, after which the daily search for a water 
hole was begun. As night approached, the 
search became more intensive, but it was not 
until after nightfall that a tank was found. 

A full moon hung in the heavens and the night 
was a beautiful one, a peaceful, restful desert 


170 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


night. Camp was quickly made a short distance 
removed from the water hole, and, after water 
had been supplied to the ponies, and the water 
bags and pails filled, the party sat down to sup- 
per and to a discussion of the topic uppermost in 
their minds — the attack that had been made on 
them, and the mysterious horseman. 

‘‘What is that I see out there suddenly de- 
manded Nora Wingate, pointing to an object 
out on the desert, some fifty or sixty yards from 
where she was sitting. 

“It looks like a cross tilted on its side,” said 
Anne. 

“That’s what it is,” nodded the guide. 

“A cross? What for?” questioned Emma. 

“Some poor desert traveler who couldn’t find 
a water hole, ’ ’ replied Hi Lang reflectively. 

“Did you know that thing was there?” de- 
manded Emma. 

“Yes, of course.” 

“And yet you camped right here? I shan’t 
sleep a wink to-night. ’ ’ 

“Don’t be foolish, Emma. Let it be a re- 
minder to us to be prudent with our water 
supply,” soothed Grace. “I do not suppose 
this water hole existed at that time ; did it, Mr, 
Lang?” 

“It may have. Travelers have been known 
to give up and die of thirst when water was al- 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 171 


most witliiii reach of their hand. You will see 
more such as that as we get south, said Hi, 
nodding in the direction of the leaning cross. 

‘‘I suppose that, in most instances, they were 
persons who did not know the desert well,^’ sug- 
gested Grace. 

Just so,’^ agreed the guide. ‘‘Shall we go 
out and look at itT’ 

“Not to-night, thank you. The morning will 
do for that. It is not a pleasant thought to take 
to bed with one. ’ ’ 

Hi got up and strode out to look at the cross, 
followed by Hippy. The guide believed in in- 
vestigating everything. It was a precaution 
that he had learned after many journeys across 
the Great American Desert. It might not mark 
the resting place of a lost traveler at all; the 
cross might be a guide to water, or it might 
mean nothing at all. In any event Hi’s curi- 
osity must be satisfied. 

“What do you find?” questioned Hippy, as 
he joined the guide by the leaning cross. 

“The stones that held it up have been moved, 
as you see. They are scattered, some half cov- 
ered with sand. Windstorm did that in all 
probability. Queer thing, but I don’t see any 
indications of anything but wind having dis- 
turbed the place. ’ ’ 

“Hand me a stone and I’ll prop it up,” re- 


172 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


quested Hippy. The guide did so, and Lieu- 
tenant Wingate dropped the stone beside it, 
after straightening up the crude cross. 

Both men heard a metallic sound as the stone 
struck the ground. The quick ear of Hi Lang 
told him that something other than desert sand 
lay there at the foot of the crossed sticks. 

‘ ^ See what it is, ’ ^ urged Hi. 

Grace had been observing the movements of 
the two men and her curiosity was rapidly get- 
ting the better of her. 

‘^Come, Elfreda, let us go out and see what 
those two men are so deeply interested in, ’ ’ she 
urged, rising and starting towards them, fol- 
lowed by Miss Briggs. 

‘‘Looks like a tin box,^^ answered Hippy. 
“ There ^s only a corner of it sticking above the 
sand. ^ ’ 

Hi got down on his knees and peered at the 
object, then, lighting a match, looked it over 
more closely. 

“Reckon it’s a cracker box. Pull it out.’’ 

“I wouldn’t do that,” protested Grace, who 
now saw what had so interested Hippy and the 
guide. “It seems like a sacrilege to disturb 
it.” 

“On the desert, Mrs. Gray, one’s life may de- 
pend upon the thoroughness with which he in- 
vestigates everything that he was not before 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 173 


familiar with — anything unusual. This is un- 
usual. ’ ^ 

“I know, but — 

‘^Out she comes, answered Hippy. 

exclaimed Grace Harlowe under her 

breath. 

‘‘Another match, please. Hi.’’ 

By the light of the flickering match the men 
and the two girls peered at the object that Lieu- 
tenant Wingate took from the sand and held up 
for their inspection. 

“It isn’t a cracker box at all. It looks more 
like a safe deposit box,” he declared. “What 
shall I do with it, Hi?” 

“Take it into camp and open it, of course.” 

Grace protested again, but not so insistently 
as before. The guide said he had a theory about 
the cross and the supposed grave, a theory 
which he proposed to prove or disprove before 
leaving that night’s camping place. 

“I know what it is, ” volunteered Miss Briggs. 
“I have one like it to keep my private papers in, 
except that this one shows wear and has lost 
most of its enamel, I suppose from the action of 
sand and weather. ’ ’ 

“What is it? What is it?” cried Emma, un- 
able longer to restrain her curiosity. Follow- 
ing her, as she came running to the scene, were 
Anne and Nora. 


174 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


“We donT know yet. It is a box, but we 
haven T opened it,^’ Grace informed her. 

“Who found it?^^ demanded Emma. 

“Mr. Lang and Hippy. 

“Do — do we get what is in it?’’ persisted 
Miss Dean. 

“This is an Overland affair, Emma,” said 
Hippy. “Mr. Lang is an Overlander so far as 
this party is concerned, and, as a matter of fact, 
he discovered the box.” 

“You mean you did. Lieutenant,” corrected 
the guide. 

“We discovered it. That, I think, is the best 
way to settle it. However, we are counting our 
chickens before they are hatched. Let’s go in 
by the fire where we can see.” 

Hippy carried the box under his arm, fol- 
lowed by the entire Overland party, their curi- 
osity being intensified by his delay in opening 
it. Observing this, Lieutenant Wingate took 
his time, helped himself to a drink of water, dis- 
cussed their find with Hi, then shifted the box 
to the other arm and began discussing the 
weather. 

“Are you ever going to open that thing?” 
cried Emma. “You are so aggravating.” 

“Oh, yes, the box,” exclaimed Hippy. 
‘ ‘ Come over by the fire where we can see what 
we are about. ’ ’ 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 175 


Hippy sat down, held the box up to his ear 
and shook it. 

‘‘Yep! Something in it. Sounds like gold 
rattling about in there, but the box is locked. 
Get a hammer so I can break it open.” 

“I do not like the idea at all,” objected Grace 
somewhat severely. “It is not our property 
and we have no right to — ” 

“Everything on the desert is any man’s prop- 
erty,” corrected the guide. “Further, it is our 
duty to open the box. We do not know but it 
may contain the last request of some unfortu- 
nate desert traveler, and if that is so it may lay 
in our power to do him a great service. Of 
course, if you say we must not open it, we will 
respect your wishes in the matter. ’ ’ 

“You may do as you wish,” answered Grace. 

The guide produced his heavy clasp-knife, 
provided with a can-opening attachment, and 
pried the cover loose. 

“Do you wish to open it. Brown Eyes?” 
asked Hippy, holding the box up to Grace. 

She shook her head. 

“Then here goes for better or for worse,” an- 
nounced Lieutenant Wingate, throwing open the 
cover and revealing the contents of the box to 
the eager gaze of the Overlanders. 


176 GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


CHAPTEE XVII 

ANOTHER MYSTERY TO SOLVE 

< ‘ TT^IHHLESTICKS ! Nothing but paper, ^ ^ 
|i wailed Emma Dean, peering into the 
mystery box. 

‘‘No. There is something more.’’ Hippy 
lifted out the paper, a folded paper, and placed 
it on the ground. “Here is a gold watch 
and a handful of gold. Let’s see how much 
there is.” He counted out a hundred dollars, 
which, with some silver and a plain gold ring, 
and the paper first removed, made up the con- 
tents of the box. 

“Not much of a find, is it?” smiled Anne. 

“No. It’s a shame, too, after our expecta- 
tions had been worked up to concert pitch, ’ ’ de- 
clared Nora. “Hippy Wingate, this is your 
doings. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Blame the fellow who put the things in the 
box. I only took them out,” grumbled Hippy. 
“Guess that’s about all, Hi,” he added, looking 
up sheepishly at the guide. 

“You haven’t looked at the paper,” re- 
minded Elfreda. 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 177 


only a piece of wrapping paper, re- 
turned Hippy. ^‘What do I want to look at 
that forr^ 

Grace Harlowe stooped over, picked up the 
paper and felt it gingerly. 

<< There is something here!^^ she exclaimed. 
^^The wrapping paper evidently has been folded 
over as a protection to what is inside. ^ ’ Grace 
thereupon opened the wrapper, revealing a 
tightly folded package of heavier paper. The 
rubber band that held the inner package to- 
gether fell apart as she placed a finger on it to 
remove it. 

The eyes of the party were instantly centered 
on Grace Harlowe, who carefully unfolded the 
paper and held it down so that the light from 
the campfire might shine on it. 

‘ Ht is a map, ’ ’ she said. ‘ Ht is a map, drawn 
with pen and ink. This looks promising, ’ ^ she 
added, spreading the map out on the ground. 
^^What a queer thing to bury, and who did it? 
Surely not the man who lies there under the 
cross. 

should not take that for granted,’^ ob- 
served Hi Lang quietly. 

‘‘Please let me see it,’^ requested Miss 
Briggs. 

Grace handed the map to her, and Elfreda 
studied it frowningly. 

12 Grace Harlowe on Desert 


178 GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


‘Ht means nothing in particular, I should say. 
It might he a map of a scene in Switzerland for 
all we know, ’ ^ declared N ora. ^ ‘ Hippy, you are 
a champion finder. I wonder if they give 
medals for persons who find things — who make 
great finds. ’ ’ 

‘^Nora dear, if I had found one of the Egyp- 
tian pyramids out here on the American Desert, 
you would blame me for not handing out the 
Sphinx at the same time,’’ protested Hippy. 

‘ ‘ It may mean a great deal, ’ ’ said Grace, 
agree with you,” nodded Elfreda, who was 
still studying the map. It is a mystery map, 
and it plainly meant something to its possessor 
or he would not have brought it out here and 
buried it. By the same token, I should say that 
it applied to something in this part of the coun- 
try. I am inclined to believe that it does. 
There is a name here. Mr. Lang, do you know 
of any person of the name of Steve Carver!” 

‘^No, Miss Briggs. May I have a look!” 

‘‘Oh, pardon me,” begged Elfreda, handing 
the map to the guide. Hi studied it for several 
minutes, then returned it. 

“It’s not a picture of anything that I ever 
saw, I reckon, ’ ’ he said. 

“What shall we do with it!” asked Miss 
Briggs. 

“I would suggest that we make a copy of it. 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 17^ 


returning the map to the box and burying the 
box by the cross where we found it,’^ replied 
Grace. 

^‘Yes, but what about this gold, Brown 
Eyes 1 ’ ^ demanded Hippy. 

‘‘Put that back, too. It doesnT belong to us. 
Am I not right, Mr. Lang?’’ she asked. 

“I reckon you are,” agreed the guide, nod- 
ding his approval of the suggestion. 

“What’s the use in finding things?” grum- 
bled Hippy, permitting the gold to slip through 
his fingers into the metal box. 

Elfreda, on a piece of wrapping paper, made 
a careful copy of the map, then returned it to 
Lieutenant Wingate, who placed it in the box 
and slammed down the cover. 

“I’ll bury the old thing, of course, but some 
one else will dig it up. That’s why I should 
advise keeping the whole business, ’ ’ said Hippy, 
rising and walking over to the cross with the 
box under his arm. They heard him working 
out there and, in a few moments, he returned. 
‘ ‘ Deed ’s done, ’ ’ he informed them. ‘ ‘What are 
you going to do with the copy of the map, J. 
Elfreda?” 

“Entertain myself in studying it. Nothing 
may come of that, of course, but, like Emma, a 
mystery does appeal to me. ’ ’ 

“So it does to me,” agreed Grace. “Were it 


180 GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


not for the fact that my intuition tells me that 
the map is going to play an important part in 
our journey, I should not have been in favor of 
making a copy of it, so take good care of the 
copy. Elf reda dear. ’ ’ 

The rest of the evening was spent in dis- 
cussing their mysterious find and all sorts of 
theories were advanced for the box being buried 
by the leaning cross. Hi Lang listened to all 
of this, but made no comment. He had his own 
ideas on the subject. 

Next morning Hi was out long before the 
others were awake, making an investigation on 
his own account. He had barely begun this 
when, upon glancing up, he saw the solitary 
horseman far out on the desert, sitting motion- 
less, apparently observing the camp of the 
Overland Eiders. 

The guide took his time at what he was doing, 
at the same time keeping a watchful eye on the 
distant horseman. 

‘H thought so!” exclaimed Hi Lang. ‘‘I 
think Idl give that fellow a run,” he decided 
after a mementos reflection, during which he ob- 
served the watcher narrowly. 

Catching up his pony, the guide quickly 
saddled, and, mounting, started across the 
desert at a brisk gallop. Five minutes later 
the solitary horseman turned his pony about 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 181 


and dashed away. Hi threw np his rifle and 
sent a bullet after the man, continuing to fire 
until the magazine of his rifle was emptied. 

After reloading Hi thrust the rifle into its 
saddle hoot and rode on until he reached the 
point from which the horseman had been ob- 
serving. Hi Lang got down and again exam- 
ined the hoof -prints of the watcher ^s pony. 

* ‘ Huh ! ’ ’ he grunted. ‘ ‘ That cayuse will keep 
on until something hits him — ^hits him hard. I 
reckon I begin to smell a mouse, and I think 
Mrs. Gray does, too. Hope she didnT hear me 
shooting back there. But none of that outfit is 
so sleepy or thick-headed that they donT see or 
hear pretty much everything that^s going on 
about them. ’ ’ 

Having freed his mind. Hi remounted and 
rode slowly back towards the camp. The 
Chinaman was getting breakfast when Mr. Lang 
rode in and tethered his pony. 

‘‘Pack up right after breakfast. WeVe got 
a long journey to-day,’^ he directed. 

Ping nodded his understanding and went on 
with his work, humming to himself. Half an 
hour later the Riders began to appear, each with 
a cheery good morning for their guide and ad- 
viser. 

Grace and Elfreda came out together. Miss 
Briggs paused to chat with the guide, Grace 


182 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


walking on and strolling about to get an appe- 
tite, as she nearly always did in the early morn- 
ing. 

Hi Lang observed her narrowly when Grace 
halted by the cross and stood gazing down at it 
thoughtfully. 

‘H wonder who you are, unhappy traveler?^’ 
she was murmuring. wonder, too, if there 
are any who are wondering where you are?’’ 
Grace observed that the ground had been dis- 
turbed since last she saw it, but she made no 
comment when, a few moments later, she joined 
Mr. Lang and Elfreda. 

‘‘Grace, I was just asking Mr. Lang who it 
was that was shooting* this morning, ’ ’ greeted 
Elfreda. 

“I presume he told you it was a mirage of 
your dreams, did he not?” smiled Grace teas- 
ingly. 

“It was Mr. Lang who did the shooting,” re- 
plied Elfreda. “Grace, our mysterious horse- 
man was on the job again this morning.” 

“Did you hit him?” questioned Grace. 

Hi Lang shook his head. 

“Too far away. Knew I couldn’t get him. 
All I expected to do was to give him a polite 
hint that his attentions were displeasing to us. 
It was the same man that has been following us 
nil along, Mrs. Gray. It was the same hoof- 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 183: 


prints, too, that I found up in the range where 
we first made camp. If that critter and I ever 
get close enough to see each other ^s eyes there’s 
going to be a shooting match. When we get to 
the hills he will have the advantage of us, be- 
cause he can get closer without being seen.” 

^‘Please don’t worry, Mr. Lang. We will 
meet that emergency when we come face to face 
with it. Perhaps by then I may have skill 
enough with the lasso to practice on a real live 
man, ’ ’ laughed Grace. 

reckon you could get most anything you 
cast for already.” 

‘ ^ Thank you ! When do we start ? ’ ’ 

Right away. Just as soon as we finish 
breakfast. Ping is packing up and we will be 
off in no time.” 

Breakfast had been eaten, and in something 
less than twenty minutes from that time, the 
party was well on its way, and the sun, red and 
angry, was showing its upper rim above the 
sands of the desert. 

‘‘A hot time on the old desert to-day,” ob- 
served Hippy. ^^Emma, how would you like a 
dish of strawberry ice cream for luncheon 1” he 
teased. 

‘ H think you are real mean, ’ ’ pouted Emma. 

Grace, at this juncture, galloped up beside the 
guide to ask him about the water hole that they 


184 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


were hoping to reach that day, but from his 
■shake of the head she knew that he was not par- 
ticularly hopeful about finding water there. 

^Ht should he easy for you to nose out a water 
tank, Mr. Lang,’’ she said, smiling over at him. 

‘^How so?” 

‘‘You are so successful in unraveling the mys- 
teries of nature that you surely should he able 
io discover water even where there isn’t any.” 

“What are you driving at, Mrs. Gray?” 

“I have an idea that you solved at least one 
mystery this morning.” 

Hi Lang flushed a little under his tan and 
shook his head. 

“There’s no use trying to keep anything from 
you, and there’s no reason that I know of, why 
I should. No one is buried in that place where 
we found the box. The cross was set up to keep 
people away so they wouldn’t find the box with 
the gold and the map. It was my idea that we 
should find it to be so. How did you know? ” 

“I saw what you had been doing,” answered 
Grace. “What do you think is the most im- 
portant contents of the box, the gold?” 

“No. I reckon the map might be a sight 
more valuable than the handful of gold if one 
knew where to find the place that the map pic- 
tures. There’s a heap of bad actors down this 
way, Mrs. Gray. They are regular land pirates. 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 185 


We call tliem desert pirates. They^d murder a 
man for two bits, and I reckon that maybe they 
had something to do with that place back there, 
and that the fellow who owned the map, when 
he saw the pirates coming, buried it so they 
shouldn T find it. ’ ^ 

‘‘Then this is another mystery for us to solve, 
Mr. Lang — the mystery of the buried map. I 
suppose you have discovered that the girls of 
the Overland Riders are possessed of the usual 
curiosity of their sex, have you notV^ 

Hi laughed silently. 

“ You’ve got a poser this time. ’Fraid your 
curiosity won’t be gratified, so far as that map 
is concerned, but I reckon you’ll find so much 
doing before long that you will forget all about 
this particular mystery. We are not being 
watched out of mere curiosity, Mrs. Gray,” de- 
clared the guide. 

“I am well aware of that, Mr. Lang,” replied 
Grace Harlowe gravely. 


186 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


CHAPTER XVIII 

AN OLD INDIAN TRICK 

I T was the most trying day of their journey 
that the Overlanders were experiencing, 
because of the heat and the fact that they 
were getting further and further below sea 
level. The heat was a lifeless heat, and the 
members of the outfit found themselves nodding 
and swaying in their saddles, keeping awake 
only by much effort. 

‘‘Water only five miles away,’’ called Hippy 
Wingate late in the afternoon in a cheerful 
voice. “Wake up. Overlanders! Hi says we 
will be there before sundown.” 

A little later the party broke into a gallop, 
leaving Ping Wing and his lazy burros far to 
, the rear of them. They were now crossing that 
arid region known as the Pahute Mesa, and, just 
over the horizon, lay a series of broken moun^ 
tain ranges, wild, cut off from civilization, and 
shunned by all save those whose duty, fancy or 
love of adventure called them there. On be- 
yond these the desert again took up its monoto- 
nous reach, hotter, more deadly than before. 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 187 


Just now, however, the thoughts of the Over- 
land Riders were on the water hole for which 
they were heading, and, next in importance, the 
cool mountain ranges. Hi Lang beckoned to 
Grace to ride up to him. 

‘‘What is it, Mr. LangT^ she asked. 

“Please caution the young ladies to be spar- 
ing of the water. ’ ’ 

“Why, it isnT possible that we are short of 
water, ’ ’ protested Grace. 

“We may be.’^ 

“Will you please explain? Your words inti- 
mate that you may have discovered something. ’ * 

“I saw dust rising from the desert over yon- 
der, a short time ago. It moved along in a little 
cloud to the westward and finally disappeared. ^ * 

“Do you think it was our mysterious horse- 
man?^’ asked Grace. 

‘ ‘ Maybe. There was more than one horse, as 
I could tell from the dust kicked up.” 

Grace asked what relation that had to the 
shortage of water. 

“Just this, Mrs. Gray. That cloud rose — 
and I saw it the instant it appeared — from about 
where the tank that we are heading for should 
be. That’s all. Of course I don’t know what 
those folks were doing there, but I am warning 
you to go easy on the water. ’ ’ 

Grace thanked him and rode over to her com- 


188 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


panions to caution them to be sparing of the 
water, saying that it were possible that they 
might be short of it, though Grace confessed to 
herself that she did not see how even a visit of 
the desert ‘‘pirates^’ to a water hole possibly 
could prevent her outfit from getting sufficient 
water for their use. Of course, if there were 
but little water in the tank it might take a long 
time to get enough for the ponies. 

‘^Something has occurred, has it notT’ ques- 
tioned Elfreda in a tone barely loud enough for 
Grace to hear. 

^‘Mr. Lang saw a cloud of dust that aroused 
his suspicion. The guide has something of an 
imagination, ’ ’ added Grace, smiling at her per- 
spiring companion. 

After a little Hi Lang ordered the party to 
drop into a slower pace, saying that he wished 
to save the ponies so far as possible. 

‘‘Dismount, but wait before you unpack,’’ 
directed the guide, when the party arrived at 
the water hole. 

“Girls, please stay where you are for the 
present,” called Grace. 

“What’s the big idea?” demanded Hippy 
Wingate. 

“Mr. Lang wishes to see if any one has been 
here. He thought he saw a dust cloud in this 
direction this afternoon and desires to have a 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 189 


look around, so donT stamp about and destroy 
the trail, if there is such a thing,’’ admonished 
Grace. 

Hi Lang got down in the water hole, and for 
a few moments was out of their sight. He rose 
finally and clambered out, his face wearing a 
stern expression, and Grace saw at once that the 
guide was trying desperately to control his 
temper. 

Without so much as looking at the Over- 
landers, Hi Lang began nosing about, now and 
then bending over to peer at the ground, step- 
ping cautiously, following a crooked course, all 
of which excited Hippy Wingate ’s merriment. 

‘‘He works just like a dog does when the 
rabbit season opens,” declared the lieutenant. 
“What’s he up to?” 

“Looking for trouble,” suggested Emma. 

Hi followed the trail he had picked up some 
little distance out on the desert, which the light 
of the full moon enabled him to do. He then 
stood up and gazed at the sky for a brief 
moment. 

“Unsaddle and make camp,” he directed 
tersely. 

“Did you find what you expected?” asked 
Grace. 

“Yes. I’ll tell you about it as soon as we 
make camp. ’ ’ 


190 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


‘‘How’s the water?” called Hippy. 

“There isn’t a drop in the tank, Lieutenant. 
Ping, you will give the ponies about a quart 
apiece from our supply, no more. We will 
stake down now. ’ ’ 

Camp was quickly made and the bacon was 
frying over a small, flickering cook-fire a few 
moments afterward. Efforts to be merry at 
supper that night were a failure, and Hi Lang 
was unusually taciturn. 

“May we hear the worst now, Mr. Lang?” 
asked Grace as they finished the meal. 

“As I told you, there is no water in the tank, 
but the sand is still moist, showing that there 
was water there a short time since. ’ ’ 

“Some one must have been rather dry,” ob- 
served Hippy, but no one laughed at his humor. 

“There probably was not much water left 
there after the party before us finished helping 
themselves, but there would have been sufficient 
for us if they had left the tank alone. They 
tampered with it, folks!” 

“How do you mean. Hi?” questioned Lieu- 
tenant Wingate. 

“By digging in and poking about in the tank 
they have managed to start the water seeping 
deeper into the ground until it finally found a 
new course and disappeared. It’s an old In- 
dian trick they’ve worked on us.” 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 191 


‘‘Is it possible that men can be so desperate 
wondered Anne Nesbit. 

“MenP^ exploded the guide. “They^re not 
men. They’re low-down hounds!” 

“Why should they wish to do these things to 
us?” demanded Nora, flushing with resentment. 

‘ ‘ There were three men in the party this time, 
one being the same fellow that has followed us 
most of the way out here. I don’t know who 
the others are. It isn’t so much the water 
that’s bothering me as it is that they don’t come 
out and face us if they have a grudge to settle 
with us. I’m ready to meet them and I reckon 
you folks are too.” 

“I think it would be a relief to have them do 
so,” agreed Elfreda Briggs. “This constant 
tormenting gets on one’s nerves after a time.” 

“Wliat is your plan? I know you have one, 
Mr. Lang,” spoke up Grace. 

‘ ‘ The clouds are making up in the south, and 
in a couple of hours they will hide the moon. It 
isn’t advisable to do anything until the night 
gets good and dark, so I suggest that you folks 
lie down and get some rest, for we have a long, 
hard ride ahead of us. ’ ’ 

“To-night? Ride to-night?” questioned 
Emma. 

“Yes. Ride and ride hard. Even the lazy 
burros have got to get a move on. We must 


192 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


ride all night to-night, and when day dawns we 
must be in or near Forty-Mile Canyon. Then 
let those pirates find us if they can. They will 
find us sooner or later, in all probability, but by 
that time we shall be doing some stalking on our 
own account. You see, they will be expecting 
to find us here in the morning, but we shall be 
far on our journey by then,’^ said the guide. 

‘‘What? Ride all night?” demanded Ernma. 
‘ H ’ll die ! I surely will. ’ ’ 

‘‘And probably all day to-morrow,” nodded 
the guide. “I will start the Chinaman on his 
way the moment the sky becomes overcast, and 
we will follow an hour or so later. You folks 
will have that much longer to sleep. Good- 
night, folks.” Hi got up abruptly and walked 
away to give his orders to Ping Wing. 

“This is where we link arms with trouble,” 
observed Miss Briggs, with a shake of the head. 

‘ ‘ Stick by me. I have a rope and I know how 
to throw it, J. Elfreda dear,” replied Grace 
Harlowe laughingly. 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 193 


CHAPTER XIX 

THE WAENING 

* I ^URN out!’’ It was Hi Lang’s voice 
I that summoned the girls from their 
tents, and a far from welcome sum- 
mons it was, for they were sleeping soundly. 

‘‘Lieutenant, the ponies are saddled and 
ready,” said the guide, halting at Hippy’s tent. 
“Please give the Riders the tent equipment to 
carry and assist them to lash the stuff on. 
Everything else has gone forward. ’ ’ 

“All right, old ma — an. Can’t give me five 
minutes for a cat-nap, can you?’ ’ begged Hippy. 

“Turn out!” 

Hippy yawned and got up. The night was 
now pitch dark, and Lieutenant Wingate fell 
over tent stakes and ropes and whatever else 
was handy for him to catch his toes on, as he 
staggered about aimlessly. 

Bethinking himself of the guide’s orders. 
Hippy suddenly began pulling up the stakes 
from the girls’ tent and let it down on their 
heads. Emma Dean cried out, which brought a 
stern command for silence from Mr. Lang. 

13 Grace Harlowe on Desert 


194 GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


Following that, there was not a sound in the 
camp during the next fifteen minutes. 

‘‘Packs lashed to ponies behind saddles,’’ an- 
nounced Hippy. ‘ ‘ Party ready to move. ’ ’ 

“Mount and follow me. No loud talking, 
please ; light no matches. You understand why 
I am so strict?” said the guide in an apologetic 
tone. 

“We understand fully, Mr. Lang,” replied 
Grace in a low voice. 

‘ ‘ Start ! ” he commanded. 

The start was made at a jog-trot, which, after 
a few minutes, was changed to a gallop. This 
pace was continued for some time, but finally 
the guide slowed down and began peering into 
the darkness, looking for Ping and his burros. 
Elfreda marveled at the almost uncanny in- 
stinct of their guide, and how Ping could lay a 
course that could be followed in the dark was a 
mystery to her. She asked Hi Lang how it 
was done. 

‘ ‘ See that red star over on the horizon. Miss 
Briggs? Ping is instructed to keep that star 
between the ears of his burro and not to wobble. 
By keeping the same star between the ears of 
my bronco I am bound to overhaul Ping, pro- 
vided he has held to his course. I am, however, 
allowing for some deviation and keeping a close 
lookout.” 


GEEAT AMEEICAN DESERT 195 


It was not more than ten minutes after that 
when Mr. Lang discovered the Chinaman and 
his burden bearers plodding along less than a 
hundred yards to the right of the course that 
the Overland Eiders were following. Ping, 
though he had heard the party coming up, held 
to his course until directed to fall in behind 
them. 

^‘A mariner following a compass course could 
do no better than that,” declared Grace Har- 
lowe. 

^‘It really is marvelous, though Mr. Lang 
doesnT think so,” replied Elfreda. 

From that point on the journey was slow and 
wearisome. No one complained, however, and 
the ponies with their riders moved through the 
night like specters of the desert. 

The first leaden streaks in the sky in the east 
next morning found the Overland Eiders still a 
long distance from their objective, the clouds 
not having darkened the moon as early in the 
evening as Hi Lang had hoped they might do, 
thus delaying the start. 

see nothing to interest us,” announced 
Grace after a survey of the desert with her 
glasses. 

‘^Neither do I. Reckon that spy will be sur- 
prised when he makes his morning call and finds 
us gone, ’ ’ chuckled the guide. ^ ^Yonder are the 


196 GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


mountains where we turn in/ ^ he added, point- 
ing. 

thought that was a cloud on the horizon,^’ 
said Miss Briggs. “How far is it from hereT^ 

“About five miles. Wefil be there in two 
hours. Mrs. Gray, will you use your glasses 
occasionally as we go ahead! Stop now and 
then and take your time in making observations. 
You can catch up with us without straining the 
pony, I reckon, ^ ’ grinned the guide. 

“Don’t we stop for breakfast soon?” begged 
Emma. 

“Tighten your belt,” answered the guide. 
“It may be some hours before we can settle 
down for rest and food.” 

Emma groaned dismally, and Hippy looked 
serious. Missing a meal meant taking a good 
part of the joy of living from his day. 

Sweltering heat followed the rising of the 
sun, and, as it lighted up the desert with its 
glare, Grace stopped and began her survey of 
the horizon as requested by the guide. She sat 
her pony until she had carefully examined it all 
the way around. 

“All clear, so far as I can see, Mr. Lang,” she 
said, riding up to him. 

Hi nodded, but made no comment, for he could 
read the desert better than could Grace Har- 
lowe with her powerful binoculars. 


GEEAT AMEEICAN DESEET 197 


It was eight o^clock in the morning when 
finally they turned into Forty-Mile Canyon and 
began picking their way over the rough ground. 
The desert heat followed them until the walls of 
the canyon rose sheer for several hundred feet, 
and they came to a cascade that, falling into the 
canyon, became a mountain brook. Here there 
was a marked change in the temperature. 

^‘Dismount and water the horses; then we 
will press on,’’ directed the guide. ‘‘Drink 
cautiously yourselves. This water is too cold 
to be gulped down and will chill your blood if 
you take too much of it. Do not let the ponies 
have all they want, either.” 

“You mean to say that we will go on after 
breakfast, do you not?” questioned Lieutenant 
Wingate. 

“No. We move in ten minutes.” 

“Humph! France in wartime was living. 
This is — well, I don’t believe my vocabulary is 
quite equal to the occasion,” declared Hippy. 

“Do we go the entire length of this canyon, 
Mr. Lang?” asked Grace. 

“No. There are several trails leading out of 
it, but I shall not take the first one. I prefer 
to take the second or third trail, perhaps just 
before night. Whoever is interested in us will 
surely find our trail leading into Forty-Mile 
Canyon and will follow it, but by the time they 


198 GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


reach, say the second turning-off path, the can- 
yon will he as dark as a dungeon. They will 
then either make camp for the night or turn 
back, believing that we are going all the way 
through the canyon.’^ 

Elfreda nodded her appreciation of the 
guide ^s reasoning. 

‘‘With the easier traveling on the desert, 
which they probably will follow, they will be 
able to take their time, knowing that they can 
head us off at the lower end of the canyon. 
You see, a straight line isnT always the short- 
est distance between two points so far as time 
is concerned, ^ ’ smiled Hi Lang. 

“But we wonT come out at the lower end, 
eh r ^ nodded Hippy. 

“You said it. Lieutenant.’^ 

“I always say something rather brilliant be- 
fore mess,” observed Hippy airily. 

“Yes, but after mess you are afflicted with 
what might be called a ‘fat mind,’ ” interjected 
Emma Dean. 

Hippy grinned and took up another hole in 
his belt. 

From that point on, the ponies traveled in the 
mountain stream. 

“There’s no need to be quiet here. Make all 
the noise you wish,” suggested the guide. 

“May I scream?” called Emma. 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 199 


Hi Lang nodded, and Emma uttered a wild 
cowboy yell which so startled her pony that the 
little fellow jumped, and, losing his footing on 
a slippery rock, went down on his nose. Emma 
landed in the stream, and for a few moments 
there was excitement among the Overland 
Riders, Hippy and Grace succeeding in rescuing 
Emma and holding her pony before serious 
results could follow. Emma, however, was 
soaked to the skin; her hair was wet and 
tumbled, and in a short time her face took on a 
bluish tinge from her ducking in the icy cold 
stream. 

Serves you right,’’ declared Hippy Win- 
gate. “Anybody who can make a noise like 
that before breakfast ought to be ducked.” 

“Were it not that the water is so cold, I 
should be inclined to agree with you,” laughed 
Grace. 

After the girls had walked Emma about to 
get her blood circulating, a fresh start was 
made. Thereafter the journey was uninter- 
rupted until darkness began to settle over the 
canyon. In passing, the guide had pointed out 
in turn three trails leading up the mountainside, 
but the Overlanders were unable to see anything 
that resembled a trail in any one of them. 
When they reached the fourth trail Hi ordered 
a halt while he investigated it. 


200 GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


‘‘We will leave the canyon by this trail. You 
will have to walk up the mountainside and lead 
your ponies/^ directed the guide upon his re- 
turn. “It’s going to be a hard climb, but it has 
to be taken. I will lead the way. Dismount 
and follow me.” 

Night had fully fallen when, after a desper- 
ately hard climb over the trail, the top of the 
mountain was reached. The Overlanders had 
had nothing to eat all day, except the few bis- 
cuits that they had in their packs, and they were 
tired and hungry, but they were not to have 
their supper just yet. Hi pushed deeper into 
the mountains, then, leaving the trail, finally 
found a camping place to his liking. There 
they made camp, turned the ponies loose, and 
drank their fill of water from a mountain spring 
before sitting down to the supper that Ping 
Wing quickly prepared for them. 

It was not long after supper ere the campers 
were sound asleep, and the night passed without 
a sound from within or without the tents, and 
so great was the change in temperature that 
blankets were tucked up close under the Over- 
landers’ chins to keep out the chill mountain air. 

Before sun-up next morning the journey was 
resumed. It took them out of the mountain 
range that they were crossing, across a broad, 
deep valley, and finally through a pass in the 


GEEAT AMERICAN DESERT 201 


Shoshone range where they camped that night. 
The guide told them that they were traveling 
westward and that it was his plan to continue in 
that direction, passing around the northern end 
of the Skull Mountains, thence down to the 
Specter Range over a stretch of desert, then 
over the foothills of four other mountain 
ranges. 

That was the plan that was followed, the 
journey covering a period of four days. Late 
on the fourth day they entered the rugged foot- 
hills of the Specter Range, and pitched their 
camp on the western edge, overlooking an arid 
desert to the south of them, broken mountain 
ranges meeting their gaze in all other directions. 

‘‘This must have been the last spot made 
when the world was built,’’ observed Elfreda 
Briggs, her brows puckered into a frown. 

“It does look like it,” agreed Anne. “All 
the odds and ends left over from the big job ap- 
pear to have been dumped down right here. ’ ’ 

“I — I hope none of the bad men were thrown 
in with them, ’ ’ said Emma. ‘ ‘ I have had about 
all I can endure of this western life.” 

“You’ll have more,” observed the guide 
tersely. “Especially if we go over the Colo- 
rado Desert.” 

“How far are we from a railroad?” ques- 
tioned Grace. 


202 GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


^‘The Tonapah line skirts the other side of 
this range. Did you see any trail marks at the 
point where we entered the Specters T’ asked 
the guide. 

Grace said she did not. The guide said that 
several horsemen had passed that way only a 
short time before the arrival of the Overland 
party, but that, from the brief glance he got of 
the trail, he did not believe the mysterious 
horseman was among them. 

“Who could they have beenT’ wondered 
Grace. 

“Wild horse hunters, perhaps. They are to 
be found all over these broken ranges, and a 
tough bunch they are in most instances. After 
you folks go to bed I’m going to scout about and 
see what further I can discover,” Hi informed 
them. 

Mr. Lang’s scouting developed nothing of im- 
portance, nor was the camp disturbed that 
night. Early next morning Grace went out to 
familiarize herself with their surroundings, 
and, at the same time, to try to shoot some 
game, for the party were in need of fresh meat, 
of which they had not had a taste in many 
weeks. She did not know where the guide was, 
not having seen him since she emerged from her 
tent that morning. 

Grace had proceeded only a short distance 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 203 


from camp when she came to a sudden halt, her 
gaze focused on a yucca tree ahead. There was 
something on the tree that apparently did not 
belong there. That something proved to be a 
sheet of paper, once white, now soiled and dis- 
colored, but evidently recently placed there. 

Closer inspection of it brought a quick flush 
to the Overland girl’s cheeks. On the sheet was 
a crudely drawn heart, with a bullet hole 
through it, the paper plainly having been held 
close to the muzzle of a revolver when the shot 
was fired, for the sheet at that point was burned 
and blackened with powder. 

Beneath the heart were scrawled the words : 

^‘TAKE NOTICE HI LANG AND YOUR 
FRESH KIDSj” 


204 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


CHAPTER XX 

DISCOVEEIES COME EAST 

< < X RECKON some one else knows this conn- 
I try fully as well as our guide does,’’ ob- 
served Grace to herself. 

Removing the paper from the yucca tree, she 
flattened it out on a rock and studied it for a 
moment, then, with a lead pencil, drew another 
and smaller heart, which she filled in with the 
pencil until it was wholly black. Grace Har- 
lowe held the paper up before her, examined it 
critically, then drawing her revolver, placed it 
against the paper and calmly shot a hole 
through the center of the “black heart.” 

“I hope they are not so thick that they cannot 
take a hint,” she muttered, pinning the sheet 
to the tree and turning towards the camp. 
Grace knew that her shot would be heard in 
camp and that it would create some excitement. 
It did. 

“What were you shooting at?” cried Hippy 
who, at sound of the shot, had started on a run. 

“I shot at a mark,” answered Grace truth- 
fully. 


GEEAT AMERICAN DESERT 205 


‘‘Oh! Did you hit it, Brown EyesT^ 

“I did, Lieutenant Wingate,’’ twinkled the 
Overland girl, and added to herseK, “I could 
not very well have missed it.” 

“Breakfast is ready. Do you know where 
Hi is ? ” asked Hippy. 

Grace shook her head and went to the stream 
that flowed from the foot of a waterfall near the 
camp. This stream followed a shallow ravine a 
short distance below, and then disappeared in a 
deep crevice in the rocks, probably to reappear 
somewhere out on the desert in a water hole. 

As she was washing her face, Grace straight- 
ened up to throw her hair back out of the way, 
when she gave a sudden start. 

‘ ‘ Good gracious ! I must be getting nervous. 
I thought I saw a wet face peering out from be- 
hind that waterfall, ’ ’ she muttered. 

Having finished with her ablutions, the Over- 
land girl went back to camp to brush and air 
her hair before joining the others at breakfast. 
She pondered as she brushed, thinking now of 
the warning that had been left for them, and 
wondering if Mr. Lang had discovered the sheet 
of paper on the yucca tree. 

‘ ‘ I believe that was one time when I got ahead 
of the guide, ’ ’ chuckled Grace Harlowe. ‘ ‘ Com- 
ing!” she answered in reply to a second in- 
sistent breakfast call. ‘ ‘ Oh, good morning, Mr. 


206 GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


Lang,’’ greeted Grace, as she met the guide 
striding into camp. 

^‘Good morning, Mrs. Gray,” he replied, giv- 
ing her a quick, keen look. 

‘‘He has seen the message,” thought Grace, 
rightly interpreting that look in the guide’s 
eyes. “Breakfast is awaiting us, sir,” she 
added out loud. “Have you had a pleasant 
stroll?” 

“No. I shot a bear, a small one, and after 
breakfast I’ll have him over here, provided 
some critter doesn’t get the start on me.” 

“Do you refer to a human being or an ani- 
mal?” asked Grace sweetly. 

“Both. Been out this morning?” 

“Oh, yes, sir. I had a pleasant walk in the 
lovely morning air. How different it is from 
the desert. I did not hear you shoot. You 
must have been some distance away when you 
got the bear. I too was out with a rifle, hoping 
that I might find some game.” 

“I was under the hill. That deadened the re- 
port somewhat. Did you shoot?” 

“I did not get an opportunity to use my rifle, 
sir. You did better than I. ’ ’ 

“Were you shooting at the mark too. Hi?” 
greeted Hippy jovially, as the two joined the 
circle about the cook fire and sat down. 

“I was shooting at a bear.” 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 207, 


Grace laughed. 

‘‘It was myself that was shooting at a mark 
with my revolver, Mr. Lang, as you already 
suspect.’’ 

“Your mark was a ‘black heart,’ eh?” 

“Yes.” 

“I thought so. Mighty clever. Hope some 
folks take the hint.” 

“What are you two talking about?” de- 
manded Emma. “If you have a secret, tell it 
to me quick ! You know I just dote on secrets. ’ ’ 

“No secret at all,” answered Hi Lang, 

Shall I tell them, Mrs. Gray?” 

“If you wish.” 

The guide then told of the warning on the 
yucca tree, which he had discovered on his way 
out that morning, and of the second bullet hole 
through a black heart that he had found on the 
same piece of paper upon his return. He said 
he knew instantly that Mrs. Gray had shot the 
answer through the black heart. 

“We’ve not been trailed here, hut headed off, 
and there’s only one man who is up to a trick 
like that. That’s Alkali Pete, otherwise known 
as Snake McGlory.” 

“Cheerful string of names,” observed Hippy. 

“I agree with you. Hippy,” spoke up Anne. 
“If he is half as had as his name, he must he a 
howling terror. ” 


208 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


‘^He is, but he^s yellow,’^ nodded Hi. 
course, I^m not saying it is be who is after us, 
but it certainly looks that way. You folks had 
better keep away from the sign on the yucca; 
tree. There might be a gun trained on that 
point. After breakfast IVe got to go out to 
fetch in the bear meat, and I wish you would 
stick around and look after the young ladies, 
Lieutenant. Never be without your ‘hard- 
ware, ^ ^ warned the guide, meaning weapons. 
“It isnT a healthful thing to do in these parts 
at any time. ’ ’ 

“Have you any instructions for us?^’ asked 
Elfreda. 

“Keep your eyes and ears open, that’s all. I 
don’t reckon we shall have any trouble in the 
daytime, but at night look out. That gang will 
show up down here where conditions are favor- 
able, if they’re ever going to do so.” 

“I hope they do,” muttered Grace. “We 
shall then be able to finish our journey in peace. 
What do you folks think about our going fur- 
ther! Unless something unforeseen occurs, do 
you people wish to go on into California and 
cross the Colorado Desert!” she asked. 

After discussing the matter for some little 
time it was decided that after a good rest in the 
mountains, they should resume their journey. 
Hi said he would send the Chinaman across the 


GEEAT AMERICAN DESERT 209 


mountains for fresh supplies, sufficient to last 
them to their journey’s end, but that it was not 
advisable to do so just at present. All under- 
stood what he meant by this latter remark. 

The talk developed into a tacit understanding 
that they were to remain where they were for 
the time being, principally with a view to giving 
their tantalizing enemies an opportunity to 
show their hand. 

Hi Lang left the camp soon after they had 
finished their discussion, and the party pro- 
ceeded to enjoy themselves, leaving to Ping 
Wing the duty of guarding the camp, for Ping 
was as keen of eye and ear as any member of 
the Overland party. He possessed the added 
advantage of having had much desert and moun- 
tain experience. 

Grace finally walked away by herself and sat 
down in sight of the waterfall to think. No 
sooner had she seated herself there than El- 
freda came sauntering along. 

‘‘Grace Harlowe, this place gives me the 
creeps!” exclaimed Miss Briggs, throwing her- 
self down beside her companion. 

“How so, J. Elfredal” 

“Perhaps its the name. Specter Range, but 
ever since we reached this place I have felt that 
some one’s eyes were watching my every move- 
ment. It doesn’t impress me as being hostile 

IJf Grace Harlowe on Desert 


210 GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


eyes, but I just feel eyes on me. I must be get- 
ting a case of genuine nerves.’’ 

am similarly affected,” answered Grace. 
‘H, too, have felt that influence of unseen eyes 
watching me. I feel it now. It is very strange. 
This morning I fancied I saw a human face in 
the waterfall yonder. ’ ’ 

Elfreda regarded her companion narrowly, 
reckon the desert has turned our heads, 
Grace Harlowe. I actually believe it has. 
I—” 

‘^Elfreda! Look to your left on that boul- 
der! Am I going really bad in my head or is 
that a — ” 

^‘A doll! A doll in this place!” cried Miss 
Briggs, springing up and running to the boulder 
to which Grace had called her attention. ‘^A 
rag doll, long since ready to go to a doll hos- 
pital,” she marveled, gingerly picking up their 
And. 

^‘Let me see it.” 

Grace, with Elfreda bending eagerly over her, 
examined their find with keen interest. 

“ J. Elfreda, I do not believe we are quite so 
crazy as we thought,” said Grace, smiling up at 
her companion. While this little waif is much 
the worse for wear, it doesn’t show any particu- 
lar results of exposure to the weather. I pre- 
sume that our arrival frightened its owner into 


GEEAT AMEEICAN DESERT 211 


running for home, leaving her doll behind, so 
let^s leave it where we found it. It is my 
opinion, too, that some little girl is the owner of 
the eyes that have been watching us.’’ 

‘^Suppose we carry it further away, placing 
it where it wilLnot he in plain sight of the camp. 
She can then get her property without so great 
a risk of being observed,” suggested Elfreda. 
^^We can watch to see if she comes for it.” 

‘ ‘ That would be a sure way to make her stay 
in hiding. We will leave the doll where we 
found it. If she is watching us she knows that 
we have a friendly feeling for her. ’ ’ Grace put 
the doll back where they had found it, saying 
that it might be wise not to say anything to the 
girls about it because they would be likely to 
make such an ado over the discovery as would 
frighten the little ^‘mother” away. 

‘‘I wonder what next?” smiled Miss Briggs. 

There is one satisfaction — ^we are not, as you 
have said, quite so crazy as we thought. But 
think of it ! A child and her doll in this wild 
place ! ’ ’ 

‘‘Yes. There is more to this affair than you 
think, but what the secret is I cannot even guess. 
I propose, however, to stay here until we solve 
the mystery. It may be possible for us to do 
something for the owner of the disreputable 
rag doll. ’ ’ 


212 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


Judging from Mr. Lang’s warnings I should 
say that we have other matters of importance 
on hand, or will have at any moment now. 
There is something familiar to me about this 
spot. Perhaps that is another illusion, a sort 
of mental mirage,” laughed Elfreda. 

Grace made no reply, but from the expression 
on her face. Miss Briggs saw that her com- 
panion was laboring under considerable excite- 
ment. 

‘‘Wha — at is it, Loyalheart?” questioned 
Elfreda. 

‘‘D — don’t you recognize the place, J. El- 
freda! Elfreda! I have made another discov- 
ery — a wonderful discovery. Look about you. 
You have seen these surroundings before. 
Think, Elfreda ! Think ! Visualize something. 
Use your imagination !” begged Grace excitedly. 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 2ia 


CHAPTER XXI 

A SUDDEN DISAPPEAEANCE 

‘ I "^HE scene of our mysterious map I 
I Do — do you mean it, LoyalheartT^ 

breathed Miss Briggs. 

“It surely is. See! There is the pyramid 
rock and the waterfall. Yonder are the three 
little rocks designated on the map as Hhe three 
bears,’ and there is the trunk of what was a 
yucca tree. ’ ’ 

“Yes, and the stream from the waterfall dis- 
appears just a few yards beyond us — ^stream’s 
end,’ as it is chronicled on the map,” cried El- 
freda. “We have made a discovery, perhaps a 
great discovery, but what does our discovery 
signify? What have we really discovered be- 
yond a waterfall and some rocks?” 

“Frankly, J. Elfreda, I don’t know,” an- 
swered Grace. “What we already have discov- 
ered means something, we know, if for no other 
reason than because of the care with which the 
map of this spot was hidden under the cross on 
the desert. Come! Let’s go tell Hippy and 
the girls of our discovery. I wish Mr. Lang 


214 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


were here. He might have some idea or sug- 
gestion to offer.’’ The two girls started to- 
wards the camp. 

‘ ‘ What ’s this ? A Marathon 1 ’ ’ called Hippy, 
as they came running in. 

‘^A discovery!” cried Elfreda. ^‘Wait until 
I get my map. ’ ’ 

Hurrying to her tent, Miss Briggs returned 
in a moment, waving the copy of the mysterious 
map. 

‘^Look at this, will you, you folks, and see 
whether or not we have made a discovery.” 

Grace, having regained her composure, smiled 
at Elfreda ’s enthusiasm. She had never seen 
her companion under so great a stress of excite- 
ment, nor was the excitement confined to Miss 
Briggs alone. The others of the party hung 
over her shoulders, peering down at the map 
and comparing it with the scene that lay before 
them, after Grace had told them of her dis- 
covery. 

‘‘What does ‘pcs’ mean on that line!” asked 
Anne. 

“Paces! Forty-five paces from those three 
little rocks to the water,” volunteered Hippy. 

“And forty from the yucca tree,” reflected 
Grace. ‘ ‘ Those two lines, drawn from the three 
rocks, named the ‘three bears’ on the map, ap- 
pear to meet about at the foot of the falls.” 


GEEAT AMEEICAN DESERT 215 


^‘Oh, wouldn’t it be wonderful were we to find 
a diamond mine or a gold mine or something, 
at the foot of the falls?” cried Emma. 

‘‘Or a gravel mine or a punk mine,” sug- 
gested Lieutenant Wingate, amid laughter. 

“What is the meaning of the circle shot 
through with an arrow in the left lower corner 
of the map!” asked Nora. 

“To indicate points of the compass,” Hippy 
informed her. “Don’t you see that capital let- 
ter ‘N’ at the point of the arrow! ‘N’ means 
north on a map. Didn’t you study geography 
when you went to school, Nora darling!” 

Nora Wingate, lost in contemplation of the 
map, made no reply. 

“All indications point to the water at the foot 
of the falls, and all lines on the map lead in that 
direction,” decided Miss Briggs. “I should 
say that it is at the foot of the falls that we must 
look for a solution, provided any solution re- 
mains to be found. Others may have solved the 
problem and removed the evidence.” 

“If we must go into that cold mountain water 
and dive for it, the old problem may remain un- 
solved so far as I am concerned. I have had 
one bath in mountain water, and that is an ele- 
gant sufficiency for me,” declared Emma Dean. 

“I think the wise plan for us would be to do 
nothing in this matter until Mr. Lang returns. 


216 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


He will know what to do/^ averred Grace. 
^^Now that we have made this discovery, I will 
tell you of another one that J. Elfreda and my- 
self made just now. We hadnT intended to 
speak of it, but later developments seem to 
make it advisable. ’ ’ 

Grace thereupon told her companions of the 
feeling that she and Elfreda had had that they 
were being watched ; of Grace ^s imagining that 
she had seen a human face faintly outlined in 
the water of the falls, and of the finding of the 
badly battered rag doll. 

The Overland girls looked their amazement. 

Where is it! Oh, let me see it,’^ begged 
Emma. 

‘‘Please keep away from it. I wish to watch 
it, and catch the owner if I can, ’ ^ replied Grace. 

“Here comes Hi,’’ Hippy informed them. 

The guide was bent over under the weight of 
the bear meat that he was carrying on his 
shoulders. 

“There!” he said, throwing it down. “I 
don’t reckon we’ll starve just yet, even if we’re 
besieged for a week of Sundays. ’ ’ 

“Oh, Mr. Lang! We have solved the dark 
mystery, ’ ’ exclaimed Emma. ‘‘You can ’t guess. 
You couldn’t guess even if you were a China- 
man, and they are the wisest of all the human 
species — at least they look it,” she added 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 217 


lamely, amid a shout of laughter from her com- 
panions. 

‘‘What Miss Dean is trying to tell you is that 
we have discovered that this spot appears to he 
the same as indicated on the map,^’ spoke up 
Grace Harlowe. 

Hi Lang reached for the map and stood study- 
ing it frowningly for some moments, now and 
then glancing up at the various landmarks. 

“It sure is,^’ he agreed, handing the map to 
Miss Briggs. “I thought it did when I first got 
here, but IVe been too busy to think any more 
about it. ’ ’ 

“Have you an idea what the map means 
questioned Anne. 

“I reckon I could make a guess, grinned the 
guide. “It isnT the first one l\e seen in this 
mountain country. You see, folks, a body now 
and then gets a tip. Some Indian has told some 
fellow that down in the Shoshones, or some- 
where, there ^s a rich gold mine where squaws 
use gold nuggets to throw at their husbands, 
and all that sort of thing. ’ ^ 

‘ ‘ I wouldn T waste a gold nugget on my hus- 
band,’’ interrupted Nora. 

“One day some fellow, taking the tip seri- 
ously, makes a map of the place as it was 
described to him. He talks too much about it, 
though, and some one hits him over the head 


218 GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


with the butt of a revolver and takes the map 
from him. When the fellow who has done the 
hitting gets to the scene, if he’s lucky, he finds 
some rocks, and water if he is lucky, and that ’s 
about all. ’ ’ 

‘^You are so encouraging,” muttered Emma. 

‘‘That may be what happened in this case. 
The fellow who buried the map, Steve Carver, 
or whatever the name is, may have had such a 
tip and talked, and started down here to find a 
gold mine, when some of these desert pirates 
got after him and he buried the map to hide it 
from them.” 

“Then you do not believe the map means any- 
thing in particular, Mr. Lang?” questioned 
Miss Briggs. 

“I am not saying so, for I don’t know. I am 
telling you about things that have occurred in 
the past. This may be the real thing, though, 
but I doubt it, and I shouldn’t get excited over 
it were I in your place, folks,” was Hi’s final 
word on the subject. 

“Another dark mystery gone fiooie!” ob- 
served Lieutenant Wingate. 

“We still have a mystery that may produce 
something, even if our gold mine has gone 
‘fiooie,’ as Lieutenant Wingate puts it,” said 
Grace. She then related the story of the dis- 
covery of the rag doll, pointing out the spot 


GEEAT AMERICAN DESERT 219 


where it still lay, so far as she was aware. Hi 
stepped over to look at it, returning in a few 
moments stroking his chin. 

Somebody lives around here, that’s sure,” 
he announced. ^‘Probably one of those desert 
pirates, and maybe the fellow who left the shot 
heart for us.” 

‘Ht is strange that we have seen no trail 
signs,” wondered Grace. 

Don’t use your eyes. Come with me.” Hi 
strode back, past the rag doll, halting a few 
paces beyond. ‘^What do you call that?” he 
demanded. 

‘‘The wet imprint of a human foot, a bare 
foot!” exclaimed Elfreda Briggs wonderingly. 

“A child’s foot at that,” nodded Grace. “I 
should judge that it had been made some time 
ago, for it is pretty well dried out. When did 
you discover it, Mr. Lang?” 

“When I came over to look at the doll. Keep 
your eyes peeled. I must cut up the bear meat 
now and cache what we don’t need to-day under 
a bed of wet leaves near the stream.” 

While the meat was being prepared, bear 
steaks for their noon meal, and the rest well 
salted, the girls discussed the mystery of the 
rag doll and the footprint. They talked of 
nothing else to the end of the meal. 

Grace, in the meantime, had made up her 


220 GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


mind to investigate the water hole at the foot of 
the falls. She did not believe the water could 
be deep there, nor that there would be the slight- 
est danger in going in. She waited, however, 
until Anne, Nora and Emma had turned in for 
a siesta. Hippy was nosing about in the bushes 
just above the camp and Hi Lang was some- 
where in the vicinity studying the rocks and the 
ground surrounding the camping place. 

Elfreda, sitting near the stream, studying the 
map, looked up as Grace came up to her wearing 
over her shoes soft rubber boots, with leggings 
that reached to the hips. 

<<I»m going wading, Elfreda dear,’^ an- 
nounced Grace. ‘‘Want to come along?’’ 

“Most emphatically not — in that cold water. 
Do your boots leak?” 

“I’ll tell you in a moment,” laughed Grace, 
stepping into the water. “No, not yet. They 
may as I wade in deeper.” Grace was waving 
her arms, bare to the shoulders, to assist in bal- 
ancing herself, for the rocks under foot were 
slippery, and feeling her way cautiously to pre- 
vent stepping into a hole. 

“All rocks underfoot so far. Nothing there 
to be investigated, ’ ’ called Grace, wading slowly 
towards the waterfall, where the mist from it 
partly enveloped her. The Overland girl thrust 
her bare arms through the thin sheet of water 


GEEAT AMERICAN DESERT 221 


that was flowing down from the rocks above, 
groping for the rocks behind, but her hands 
failed to reach them. 

^^All lines on this map appear to converge at 
about the center of the falls, called Elfreda, 
with eyes on her map. 

A sharp, sudden scream of alarm from Grace, 
a scream that at first loud and piercing, an in- 
stant later seemed muflled and far away, 
brought Elfreda Briggs to her feet. 

Grace Harlowe had disappeared in a twin- 
kling. 

‘‘Help! Grace has gone in!^’ shouted El- 
freda, plunging into the cold water, floundering 
and falling as she struggled toward the falls. 


CHAPTER XXII 

THE MAD HERMIT 

H ippy WINGATE heard. Hi Lang, fur- 
ther away, heard the shrill cry, and both 
men came crashing through the bushes. 
“What’s loose!” shouted Hippy Wingate, as 
he floundered into camp. 

“We don’t know,” answered Anne, who, with 
Nora and Emma, had run from their tent. 


222 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


^‘Elfreda screamed. There! She’s in the wa- 
ter ! ’ ’ cried Anne. 

Hippy ran and leaped into the stream. The 
lieutenant slipped and landed flat on his back 
with a mighty splash, going in all over. He 
was up coughing and sputtering. 

‘^What — ^what the dickens is all this row 
about?” he demanded as soon as he could get 
his breath after regaining his feet. 

‘‘Grace disappeared right here where I am 
standing. She disappeared before my very 
eyes. Help me find her. Hurry, Hippy I She 
may be drowning,” urged Elfreda, who had by 
this time reached the foot of the falls. 

Hippy waded hurriedly to Elfreda, and to- 
gether they began feeling about on the bottom, 
the water there being not more than three feet 
deep. 

Hi Lang now arrived on the scene and was 
quickly acquainted with the situation, so far as 
the three girls on shore were familiar with it, 
and he too rushed into the water. 

“Where was she when you saw her?” de- 
manded Hi. 

“Right where I am standing now,” answered 
Elfreda. 

“What was she doing?” 

“Both hands were thrust through the falls 
like this.” Miss Briggs thrust her own hands 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 223 


through the thin sheet of water. ‘‘I was look- 
ing down at the map and talking to her when I 
heard her scream. Looking up, she was no 
longer there.’’ 

Hi Lang lowered his head and ducked through 
the waterfall. As he did so, those on the out- 
side heard a shot. It was followed by a second 
one almost instantly. 

Lieutenant Wingate hurled himself through 
the falling water, followed by Elfreda Briggs, 
who fell rather than stepped through. 

There was no wall of rock behind the water- 
fall, at least not near the base of the falls. In- 
stead, a tunnel-like opening led back into the 
mountain, worn smooth on its rocky sides by 
perhaps centuries of wear from the waters that 
once had flowed through there. Into this moun- 
tain cave Hippy sprang. He paused for an in- 
stant in amazement. 

‘ ^ Stop them ! ’ ’ cried Elfreda. 

A remarkable scene greeted the eyes of Lieu- 
tenant Wingate and Elfreda Briggs. Grace lay 
on the floor of the cave; Hi Lang had a man 
down on the floor and was beating him unmerci- 
fully, while a young girl was doing her best to 
save the man by whacking the guide over the 
head and shoulders with a stick. 

Hippy snatched it from her and threw it out 
into the water. 


224 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


‘‘Scat, you!^’ lie commanded. “Hi, shall I 
sit on his headT’ 

“N — n — n — no. Won’t need it when I get 
through with him,” gritted the guide. 

“Don’t forget yourself, Mr. Lang,” warned 
Elfreda in a calm voice, as she knelt down be- 
side Grace and felt for her pulse. It was weak 
and Miss Briggs found a lump on Grace’s head 
where something had hit her. “ You go back ! ’ ’ 
commanded Elfreda, as the young girl tried to 
dodge past her. “The Chinaman is out there 
and he ’ll catch you if you run out. ’ ’ 

The child shrank back, and Hi, suddenly 
brought to a realization that he was going too 
far, ceased beating the man. 

“The hound doesn’t deserve to live,” he 
growled, rising and standing over his victim. 
“He struck Mrs. Gray with the butt of a re- 
volver, I reckon, then shot at me. I put a bullet 
through his shoulder, and we clinched. The 
man’s a giant for strength. How’s Mrs. 
Gray?” 

“I will have her around in a few moments,^’ 
answered Elfreda with the calm confidence born 
of experience in the war hospitals of France. 
“Who is the man and what is he?” 

‘ ‘ Hermit, I reckon, and crazy as a bug. Here, 
you!” he said sharply, as the child was stealing 
towards the hermit’s revolver that lay on the 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 225 


floor of the cave. take that, if you please. 

Is this man your father 

The girl nodded. 

^‘What^s your name!’^ 

‘ ‘ Lindy — Silver Lindy. ’ ’ 

^‘Huh! Get up and behave yourself com- 
manded Hi as the hermit raised himself on an 
elbow and brushed a hand across his face. 

The hermit got heavily to his feet and leaned 
against the wall of the cave. They saw that he 
was a giant in stature, heavily bearded, with a 
heavy growth of iron-gray hair on his head. 

‘‘He — ^he grabbed my hands and jerked me in 
— into the cave before I could draw back. Then 
he hit me, ’ ^ gasped Grace. 

“Yes, I know, Loyalheart. Rest a moment 
and then we will get out of here. The ruffian 
has been well punished for what he did to you.’’ 

“You two please go out as soon as Mrs. Gray 
is able to walk. I want to have a talk with this 
man. Lieutenant, you stay with me,” com- 
manded Hi Lang. 

A few moments later Miss Briggs led Grace 
from the cave. They got a ducking going out, 
and it brought Grace back to herself in a 
twinkling, but her head ached as if it would split 
wide open, so Elfreda took her to her tent, un- 
dressed her and made Grace go to bed. 

Hi Lang and Hippy Wingate came out of the 

15 Grace Harlowe on Desert 


226 GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


cave about an hour later, leaping through the 
waterfall, the only exit from the novel hiding 
place of Lindy and her father. Grace heard the 
voices of the two naen and sent Elfreda for them, 
but Miss Briggs declined to permit Grace to get 
up and go out to them. 

‘Mt is perfectly silly to make me stay in bed, 
but my nurse would have it. Please tell me the 
news,’’ she greeted as Hi and Hippy appeared 
at the tent and sat down on the ground facing 
her. 

‘ ^ There ’s not much to tell except that that old 
ruffian’s name is Steve Carver. He wouldn’t 
admit it, but when I called him by that name he 
answered to it before he thought, then told me 
his name was Silver. He did not say so, but 
he thinks he has a claim that is valuable. He is 
one of those queer duffers that I was telling you 
about.” 

‘‘Wrong in his head?” questioned Grace. 

“Very much so. He declares that we are 
here for no other purpose than to rob him and 
threatened that he would get us yet, if we didn’t 
move out hot foot.” 

“Ho you think it was he who put the ‘shot 
heart’ on the yucca tree?” questioned Miss 
Briggs. 

“No. He didn’t do it. I tried to convince 
him that we did not care a rap about him or his 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 227 


property, but he wouldn’t have it that way, and 
made the threat that I have told you about. I 
told the old fool that if he made a move to harm 
any of this outfit, I’d kill him on sight, and I 
will!” Hi Lang’s lips tightened and a set ex- 
pression appeared in his face. 

‘‘I hope you will not do anything like that^ 
Mr. Lang,” objected Grace evenly. ‘^You 
wounded him, did you not?” 

Yes, in the shoulder. I wanted to dress the 
wound, but he wouldn’t have it. I returned his 
revolver because he declared it was the only 
weapon he had, and I wouldn’t leave a man in 
this neck of the woods without firearms, even if 
he were my worst enemy. I expect he’ll use it 
on us again. If he does, of course — ^well, never 
mind. We will meet that emergency when we 
come to it, to use your own words, Mrs. Gray. 
I think I will sit up to-night, ’cause I have a 
hunch that we are in for trouble.” 

‘^What a shame to let the girl Lindy live like 
a wild animal, as she is doing here,” protested 
Miss Briggs. ‘‘She is not a bad looking child 
at all.” 

“We must try to make friends with her. 
Perhaps we may be able to do something for the 
unfortunate child. I wonder if she has a 
mother!” reflected Grace. “Do you think that 
old hermit would hit me over the head if I were 


228 GEACE HARLOWE ON THE 


to go there again? I don’t believe I could stand 
another such a blow.” 

‘^You keep away from there, Mrs. Gray,” 
commanded Hi Lang sternly. ‘^A crazy old 
duffer like that isn’t to be trusted. He is just 
as likely as not to shoot at you, if you try to get 
near his daughter. Being responsible for your 
safety, I forbid you to go near the place.” 

^^Very good, sir,” answered Grace, saluting. 
‘‘Your orders shall be obeyed, and thank you 
for rescuing me. I had three good friends come 
to my rescue. I — ” 

“Here it is already!” cried the guide, spring- 
ing up and jerking his revolver from its holster. 
Lieutenant Wingate doing the same. 

A revolver, fired close at hand, had shot a 
hole through the tent flap and bored a hole 
through the rear wall of it. The bullet had 
passed but a few inches above the head of 
Hippy. 

The two men were outside, skulking with 
drawn weapons, a second or so later. Then 
came a rattling fire of rifle shots. The leaves 
of the trees began fluttering down over the 
camp, showing that the bullets were going high, 
which might have been due to the fact that they 
were being fired from a point much higher than 
the camp. 

Grace, hearing the shots, was able readily to 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 229 


distinguish between revolver and rifle reports, 
and she knew that Lieutenant Wingate and the 
guide were provided only with revolvers. 

‘‘We're attacked! Quick, Elfreda! Rifles 
and ammunition for all. Get guns for the 
men ! ' ' 

Forgetful of her aching head, Grace sprang 
up and began feverishly throwing on her clothes. 
Elfreda already was out of the tent, running for 
the rifles and ammunition. 


CHAPTER XXIII 

BESIEGED BY DESEET PIEATES 

^ ‘ come along, ' ' chirped Ping Wing, 

I I trotting up to Elfreda with a rifle in 
either hand and two belts of ammu- 

nition. 

“Take them to the men!" commanded EL 
freda. “Be quick about it, then help us defend 
the camp ! ' ' 

Grace was out of her tent in a very few min- 
utes, rifle in hand, lasso hooked to her belt on 
one side and revolver on the other. She ran to 
the rear of the camp, observing as she went that 
her companions were appearing with rifles in 


230 GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


their hands, Emma Dean pale and frightened, 
Nora and Anne flushed and excited. 

‘^Get cover! DonT stand up like that,’^ ad- 
monished Grace. 

^^Whe — ere?^’ gasped Emma. 

‘‘Lie down behind rocks or any other cover 
you can find, and for mercy ^s sake donT shoot 
our own men. Hippy ! Hi ! ^ ’ she called guard- 
edly. 

“Here!^’ came a low-spoken reply from the 
right foreground. ‘ ‘ Keep down ! ’ ^ 

“The girls are armed and waiting, Mr. Lang, 
^hat are your orders?” 

“Wait! The firing has stopped, but it will 
begin again. There’s a man on his back up 
there in the bushes. He’s been hit, but not by 
us. Everybody keep down and out of sight. 
Sh — ^h — h ! I see a hat up there on the ridge. ’ ’ 

“Don’t kill unless you have to,” begged 
Grace in a loud whisper. 

From her position the Overland girl, peering 
up toward the ridge, saw a head cautiously 
raised above it, then a pair of shoulders, and a 
rifle slowly being brought up to aiming position. 
She observed that the weapon was being aimed 
at a point to the left of her, and knew that 
Hippy was somewhere in that direction. 
Glancing at the guide, Grace saw his rifle, too, 
was being cautiously raised. A flash and a 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 231 


deafening report followed almost instantly, and 
the man on the ridge sank out of sight. 

‘ ‘ Got him ! ’ ^ grunted the guide. ‘ ^ Hit him in 
the shoulder ! ^ ^ 

^ ‘ No w we will catch it ! ’ ^ exclaimed Grace. ‘ ‘ I 
hope the girls do keep down.’’ Glancing back 
apprehensively, and failing to see any of her 
companions, she again turned her attention to 
the ridge. Bullets from the ridge began to trim 
the foliage and to spatter on the rocks on either 
side of Grace and Hi Lang. The attackers were 
opening up fiercely, but not a reply came from 
the defenders. They were waiting for their 
adversaries to show themselves. 

^ ^ Creep back — crawl back and tell the young 
ladies to spread out in open order, as you call it 
in the army. Tell them to watch the sides of 
the camp and the desert end so that those 
cayuses don’t flank us,” directed the guide. 

Grace’s movements must have attracted the 
attention of the attackers, for a bullet clipped 
the edge of a rock within a few inches of her 
head, ricochetted and went wailing off over the 
desert. 

Hippy’s rifle banged, and his bullet reached 
the man who had fired at Grace. 

‘^Hai yah! Littee man can do,” piped Ping 
Wing shrilly. 

^‘Shut up! Want to get killed?” demanded 


232 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


Lieutenant Wingate sternly, whereupon the 
Chinaman subsided and nothing more was 
heard from him for some time thereafter. The 
firing soon subsided, too, and the attackers drew 
back, possibly for consultation. As yet, only 
two of them had been seen, and both had been 
hit. 

‘^We surely are going to catch it when night 
falls, muttered the guide, casting an anxious 
glance at the sky. 

In the meantime, Grace, having disposed of 
her force, consisting of Elfreda, Anne, Nora 
and Emma, Hi and Hippy occupying a position 
between the camp and the attackers, searched 
out Lieutenant Wingate to tell him where the 
others of the party were. Grace then returned 
to the guide. 

‘^What do you propose to do to-night T’ she 
asked him rather anxiously. 

‘^Keep awake, answered the guide tersely, 
should think it might be well for us to 
adopt army tactics and fiank them. If we don ’t, 
they surely will do it to us, ’ ^ suggested Grace. 

‘^There’s a moon,’^ reminded Hi Lang . 

^‘So much the better for our purposes, sir. 
We may, in that way, be able to catch one or two 
of the bandits, if that is what they are, by driv- 
ing them towards or into our camp and then 
round them up. With one or two of them 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 233 


caught we ought to he able to get rid of the rest, 
especially if we are fortunate enough to get the 
right ones. We can threaten to line them up 
before a firing squad if another shot is fired by 
their party,’’ suggested Grace. 

^‘That’s a good stunt,” nodded Hi. ‘^Work 
it out and let me know about it.” 

have it already worked out. As a matter 
of fact I have more than once seen enemy patrol 
parties in France captured that way.” They 
discussed Grace’s proposal for several minutes, 
after which she crawled away to inform Hippy 
and the girls, as well as Ping Wing, of their 
plans. 

Night fell soon after that. With it came 
shooting, but the return shots from the camp 
were fired by one man. Ping Wing, lying behind 
a rock answering the fire of the attackers, al- 
most shot for shot, but firing into the air so as 
not to hit one of the Overland Riders. They 
had crept out and were deployed to the right 
and left of the attackers, and were gradually 
closing in on the attackers’ rear, with positions 
so clearly understood that there could be little 
danger of their hitting each other. 

After half an hour of this, the Chinaman’s 
fire ceased suddenly, which was according to 
Grace Harlowe’s plan of otfense. The fire of 
the attackers died away about the time that the 


234 GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


two sections of Overland Eiders met to the rear 
of their enemies. After a brief whispered con- 
sultation, Grace and the guide went on ahead, 
one to the right, the other to the left of their 
companions, in an effort to locate their adver- 
saries for the surprise attack which Grace and 
Hi had planned to make. 

It was slow, nerve-straining work. Every 
step was taken with the utmost caution, weapons 
held ready for instant use, and with eyes and 
ears ever on the alert. It was the belief of each 
that the bandits would be found creeping to- 
wards the camp, which they could quite safely 
do, now that the shadows cast by tree and shrub 
were so deep. 

The first intimation that Grace Harlowe had 
of the presence of one of the attackers was when 
some one, just ahead of her, stumbled and fell, 
uttering an imprecation as he did so. Crouch- 
ing down, with revolver at ready, muscles 
tensed, and every faculty on the alert, she 
waited. A man got to his feet not more than 
ten feet ahead of her. How she had managed 
to get so close to him without attracting his at- 
tention was something that the Overland Eider 
never could satisfactorily explain to herself. 
Grace did not realize that she had been stalking 
him with Indian-like quietness. 

The man, standing outlined in the moonlight, 


GEEAT AMEEICAN DESEET 235 


glanced about him apprehensively, and, in that 
second, Grace recognized him. It was the 
leader of the desert crowd who had brought on 
the fight with the Overlanders at their second 
water hole. 

Grace Harlowe^s first impulse was to shoot. 
Instead, she rose slowly and cautiously to her 
feet, slipping her revolver to her left hand, 
grasping the lasso with her right. She was 
taking a desperate chance, well knowing what 
would happen were she to be discovered. 

The lasso quickly described a few circles over 
her head. The man heard it, and fired with 
lightning-like quickness as he whirled. Grace 
felt the hot breath of the bullet as it sped past 
her. The man leaped to one side, but too late. 
The loop of the lasso had already dropped over 
his shoulders, and his leap drew it tight, pinion- 
ing his arms to his sides. He fell heavily, his 
revolver clattering to the rocks as he pulled the 
trigger a second time in a last effort to get the 
roper. 

Without an instant’s hesitation, Grace 
snubbed the hair rope about a tree and began 
hauling in on it, pausing only long enough to 
fire three quick shots into the air as a signal for 
assistance. 

The roped man was heavy, and the best Grace 
was able to do was to keep the rope taut, tak- 


236 


GRACE HARLOWE 


ing up the slack the instant he tried to roll to- 
wards her to loosen the strain on the rope and 
enable him to throw off the loop that was hold- 
ing him helpless. Grace was too quick for him 
in his attempts in that direction. 

‘ ‘ That ’s right ! Keep on rolling, ’ ^ she panted 
after one of these attempts had been thwarted. 

When I get you close enough 1^11 tie you to the 
tree. I am sure to shoot you in a vital spot 
when I get you tied up. ’ ’ 

‘‘1^11 kill ye fer this I’’ raged the roped ruffian. 

‘‘Stop talking or I’ll do it first!” threatened 
Grace sternly. Her hands and arms were ach- 
ing, but she dared not relax her grip on the rope 
with both hands, being well aware that, if she 
did, the man would leap to his feet and throw 
off the loop in an instant, and that then she 
would have to shoot him to save her own life. 

Rifles began to bang off towards the camp. 
Two sides were engaged, as she could tell by the 
sound of the firing. Listening intently, her at- 
tention was momentarily drawn from her pris- 
oner. He must have felt the slight lessening of 
the pressure of the lasso, for he made a sudden 
leap. Grace, at the same time, leaped back- 
ward, to assist her in taking up the slack in the 
rope, and once more had the man securely held. 

The shooting in the distance, in the mean- 
time, was increasing in rapidity, and now, from 



The Man Leaped Too Late. 
237 


238 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


the sounds, Grace Harlowe felt that three sepa- 
rate parties must he engaged in the battle. 
This, she knew, might be explained by the possi- 
bility that the attackers or her own party had 
divided for strategical reasons. She could 
imagine no other condition that would account 
for the firing from three directions. 

‘‘Oh, I do hope that no one has been killed,^’ 
muttered the girl, taking a quick jerk on the 
rope as she felt the strain on it relax ever so 
little. 

“Mr. Man, I shall not warn you again. You 
know what I mean,’’ reminded Grace, quickly 
drawing her revolver and holding it in the right 
hand with the hair rope. 

From that time on there was quietness, ex- 
cept for the shooting, which seemed to be gradu- 
ally dying out on all sides. 

“I’ll hang on until the last minute, then, if 
this fellow’s friends come. I’ll fight until I am 
shot down ! ’ ’ gritted the Overland girl. 

An owl hooted dismally. At first she thought 
it was a signal call, but later decided that what 
she heard was in reality an owl. Then came 
three interval shots so near at hand that the re- 
ports made her nerves jump. Those three 
shots she knew to be signals, but whether from 
friend or foe she had no means of determining, 
so Grace did not answer them. 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 239 


The sound of voices now reached her ears. 
The prisoner heard them, too, and stirred a 
little, whereupon Grace gave the rope a sug- 
gestive pull, which served to quiet him. 

‘‘Are those your men coming she asked in 
a low voice. 

“Yes. They wonT do a thing to ye, either, 
and— 

“Be silent! If they are your men, you will 
lie as motionless as if you were dead, and not 
utter a sound. A groan or a cough, or any 
noise from you that I can hear, will let loose a 
bullet ! Do you understand ? ’ ’ 

“Yes.^^ She barely caught the word, so low 
was it spoken. 

‘ ‘ Thank you I ^ ’ Grace crouched down behind 
the tree, holding firmly to the rope with her left 
hand, her revolver, held in the other hand, being 
trained on the man on the ground. In that 
position, Grace waited for what she fully ex- 
pected was before her. 


240 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


CHAPTER XXIV 

CONCLUSION 

T he voices sounded to the right of Grace, 
and a great wave of relief swept over 
her as she realized that the talkers were 
going to miss her by a margin of several yards. 
Provided the prisoner made no outcry she was 
safe for the moment. 

The talkers passed without discovering her, 
now speaking in such tones that she was unable 
to distinguish voices or words, though Grace 
was convinced that there were only two men. 

Suddenly a loud, penetrating, long-drawn 
‘ ‘ Coo — e — ^e — e — e — e — e ! ’ ’ woke the echoes of 
the mountain fastness. It was the call of the 
cowboy, a friendly, thrilling sound. 

A moment of silence ensued; then another 
call broke the stillness. 

‘ ‘ Overla — a — a — a — and ! ^ ’ 

Grace felt the blood rush to her face when she 
heard the familiar hail of her outfit, uttered by 
a voice that she recognized, the voice of Hi 
Lang. 

‘ ‘ Overla — a — a — and ! ’ ^ she answered full and 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 241 


strong. “Careful there, Mr. Man. I can yell 
and shoot at the same time. Keep that in mind 
if you feel inclined to wiggle,’^ added Grace, ad- 
dressing her prisoner. 

Two men came running and stumbling over 
the rocks. 

“Mrs. GrayP’ shouted the guide. 

“Here ! ’ ’ she answered. ^ ‘ I have a prisoner* 
Be careful.’’ 

“Hulloa, Kid,” greeted a familiar voice. 

“That voice sounds like Bud Thomas, who 
gave me the rope that I caught this fellow 
with,” answered Grace, laughing a little hys- 
terically. 

“You said it. Kid. Who you got here? 
Prisoner, you say?” 

“Yes, Bud.” 

Hi Lang had strode forward, and leaned over 
the Overland girl’s prisoner and peered down 
into his face. 

“You miserable hound! So, it’s you, is it?” 
growled Hi Lang. “Know who you have here, 
Mrs. Gray?” 

“No, sir, I can ’t say that I do. I know where 
I saw him a few weeks ago, though. ” 

“He’s the fellow who emptied the bucket of 
water over Lieutenant Wingate by the water 
hole that day and started the fight. Bud, do 
you know this critter?” 

16 Grace Harlowe on Desert 


242 GBACE HAELOWE ON THE 


Bud took one look at the prisoner and uttered 
a growl. 

‘‘Know him? Bet I do. Thetis the critter 
that we came out here to shoot up. Snake Mc- 
Glory, I reckon this’ll ’bout wind ye up.” 

“Snake McGlory?” repeated the guide. “I 
reckoned as much. He must be the fellow who 
has been following us all the way across. Yes, 
I am certain he is the man. I’ll talk to you 
later, Snake. I’ll be wanting to know what’s 
back of all this.” 

“You’ll be gittin’ nothin’ out o’ me,” growled 
the prisoner. 

“Won’t, hey? Beckon I know a way. Mrs. 
Gray, think you can find your way back to the 
camp? It’s perfectly safe. What’s left of the 
gang that’s been bothering us are hog-tied and 
harmless.” 

“Yes, certainly I can find my way, but I do 
not propose to go until you men and the pris- 
oner accompany me. If the man won’t talk, 
why should we care? Take the prisoner, if 
you please, and we will go in together. Was 
^ny of our outfit hurt?” 

“Nary a one,” answered Bud. 

“Very well, Mrs. Gray,” said Hi, shrugging 
his shoulders. “Get up, you! Don’t make me 
any madder than I am or I’ll forget myself. 
By the way, Mrs. Gray, Steve Carver got his.” 

“The old hermit? Do you mean that he has 
been killed?” 


GEEAT AMEEICAN DESEET 245 


Yes. He was the fellow who shot at us, and 
some of this critter’s gang let him have it, prob- 
ably thinking it was one of our outfit. ’ ’ 

am sorry, Mr. Lang, very sorry. Was the 
girl harmed?” 

‘^No. Miss Briggs is looking after her, but 
the kid’s a hard proposition to control. She 
carried on something awful when she was told 
that Steve had got his. The old man, before he 
passed out, admitted that he was Steve Carver, 
but that was all. ’ ’ 

Grace, now very thoughtful, followed Hi and 
Bud, who drove their prisoner before them on 
their way to the camp. As they neared it. Bud 
raised his voice in the same cowboy yell that 
had been sounded for Grace. 

‘‘Hulloa, Miss Gray,” greeted a big, raw- 
boned cow puncher, extending a brown paw to 
Grace as she stepped into their camp. There 
were a dozen more fellows, hat in hand, bashful 
as schoolboys, some of whom Grace knew by 
sight, as having been present when the Over- 
landers selected their ponies at Elk Eun, wait* 
ing to be recognized. 

“Howdy, boys,” welcomed Grace Harlowe,. 
lifting her sombrero, holding it out at arm’s 
length and smiling radiantly. “I don’t know 
how you got here, but I’ll say that I’m mighty 
glad to see you all.” Stepping forward, Grace 


244 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


shook hands with each of them. ^HVe got a 
prisoner here for you, boys — Ve got Snake Mc- 
Glory, and how do you suppose I got him?’’ 

The cowpunchers shook their heads. 

‘‘With the Mexican lariat that Bud presented 
to me for you good fellows. I roped him, boys, 
but it was you that helped me. Do you know, 
when I was swinging the loop over my head 
preparatory to casting, I thought to myself, ‘If 
I miss it, those big-hearted punchers back at 
Elk Run will be sorry they gave me this rope. ’ 
Then I let go. ’ ’ 

The cowboys whooped. 

‘ ‘ Is any one hurt ? ’ ’ asked Grace. ‘ ‘ Where is 
Miss Briggs?” she added, observing that El- 
freda was not among them. Elfreda, at this 
juncture, stepped from her tent, where she had 
been trying to comfort the orphaned child of 
the old hermit, and swung a hand in greeting. 

Bud informed Grace that they had six of Me- 
Glory’s gang tied up in the bushes, and three 
more laid out wounded. 

“Yes, and we’ll land the whole bunch of ’em 
in jail to-morrow,” interjected Bud. “I want 
to ask ye. Miss Gray, if ye know a woman named 
Belle Bates?” 

‘ ‘ Belle Bates ? I should say I do. She is the 
wife of Con Bates, the bandit that I wounded 
in the leg when he attacked us on the Apache 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 245 


Trail last summer. We got him in jail finally.. 

Whyr’ 

‘‘Thet critter over there that you roped, is 
Belle Bates’ brother. Belle didn’t stay in Ari- 
zona any longer ’n she could git out, after you 
mixed it up with her, and came out to Elk Run 
to live with her brother. Well, Shoshone Pete 
here has a gal that Belle Bates cottons to like 
sixty, and this gal told Shoshone that Snake 
had gone out to gather a bunch and make it hot 
for that bunch of fresh kids, meanin’ your- 
selves, and to clean ’em out good and proper 
for what you did to Con and Belle Bates. Thet 
was right in Snake’s line. He’s a pirate and a 
yaller houn’ dawg, and the sheriff’s been tryin’^ 
to catch ’im with the goods on, ’ ’ concluded Bud. 

‘‘So, that’s it, eh?” nodded Grace. 

“I reckon so. Well, Shoshone’s gal, havin’ 
heard him tell about you folks, put him wise 
instanter, Shoshone heats it for my shack and 
wants to know what he ’d better do. I said we ’d 
git the gang together and hot foot it for the 
Specters, knowin’ that ye was about due to he 
there. We took train on the Tonapah, got off 
at Armagosa, broncos and all, and made tracks 
for the hills. If it hadn’t been that we heard 
the shootin’ here, we might have been lookin’ 
for ye yet. We found Snake’s gang skulking 
about your camp and we sailed right into ’em.”' 


246 GEACE HAELOWE ON THE 


‘‘That was splendid of you, Bud,’^ glowed 
Grace. 

‘ ‘ ^Member, I told ye thet if ye got into a mix- 
up we were the boys thet would be on the job to 
help ye out? ’Member thet?” 

“Indeed I do remember,” replied Grace, 
nodding and smiling. “Mr. Lang, is Ping get- 
ting supper? These boys must be hungry. I 
know I am. ’ ’ 

“Yes. He’s rustling the grub. Bear steak, 
Bud. How’s that?” chuckled the guide. 

“Yum-yum. Thet’s pure velvet,” answered 
Bud, smacking his lips. 

“What I don’t understand is why McGlory 
was to the rear of the men who were attacking 
us,” wondered Lieutenant Wingate. “That 
action doesn’t appear to fit a bad man of the 
west.” 

“Fit Snake o. k.,” said Bud. “If his gang 
had got the worst of it, ye wouldn’t have seen 
him ’round these parts. He’s a sneakin’ 
coward. Stayed behind to watch out thet they 
didn’t get surprised from the rear. I’ll bet he 
told ’em. Bad man ! Bah ! ’ ’ 

Ping sounded the mess call at this juncture, 
whereupon the two parties promptly gathered 
about the campfire to eat and talk. 

Hi Lang was- of the opinion that McGlory had 
a suspicion that the Overland Eiders were out 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 247 


prospecting under cover of a pleasure trip, be- 
cause Lieutenant Wingate had jokingly inti- 
mated as much when they were selecting ponies 
for the desert trip. It was known, according 
to Bud, that Snake had left town a day or two 
after Grace Harlowe and her party rode away 
from Elk Run, he returning later and then dis- 
appearing again. 

^‘To-morrow wedl take the whole bunch to 
the county seat and see thet they git what’s 
cornin’ to ’em,” promised Bud. ^‘What you 
folks goin’ to do?” 

Hi said they had not perfected their further 
plans, but that they might go to town with him. 
Later in the evening, after most of the cowboys, 
not on guard duty over the prisoners, were 
snoring, the Overland Riders held a conference 
by the campfire. The subject of that conference 
was little Lindy, the daughter of the hermit. 

‘Hf that poor child has no relatives it is our 
plain duty to look after her,” declared Grace. 
‘‘Elfreda, would it be legally possible for us to 
adopt her?” 

‘‘Not knowing what the law is in this state, I 
cannot say, but my judgment is that, as an or- 
ganization, we could not. One of us as an indi- 
vidual might do so, in fact I have been thinking 
of doing that myself — ^that is, I have been con-^ 
sidering it.” 


248 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


‘‘Would you really?’’ questioned Anne. 

“I might. The child appears to be fond of 
me already. She is wild as an untamed bronco 
now, but she has within her the making of a real 
woman,” said Miss Briggs thoughtfully. 

After some further discussion, it was decided 
that Elfreda and the child should accompany 
Bud and his companions to the county seat next 
day. There, Miss Briggs would make inquiries 
about the child’s family, which inquiries, if 
satisfactory, would lead to an application being 
made for little Lindy’s adoption, were that 
found to be legally possible. At the same time. 
Miss Briggs would formally appear against 
Snake McGlory and his gang. 

Early on the following morning, Grace, El- 
freda and Hi Lang entered the cave behind the 
waterfall, leaving Lindy with Anne and Nora. 
They had not yet made an examination of the 
place, and were now doing so in the hope that it 
might furnish some clue that would assist them 
in learning who and what this strange pair 
might be. 

“Look here!” called Elfreda, after she had 
shaken the water from her clothing, for, in spring- 
ing through the waterfall, all three had been well 
soaked. “Here is the same mark, carved in the 
rocks, that we found on the map, a circle shot by 
an arrow. It must mean something. ’ ’ 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 249 


Grace regarded the sign with interest. 

‘‘Yes, it evidently does. I do not suppose 
that Lindy knows what it means.’’ 

Elfreda shook her head. 

‘ ‘ The child knows very little about anything, 
and anyway, there appears to be nothing in this 
place except dampness and gloom. How human 
beings lived here is beyond me,” declared Miss 
Briggs. 

“Come, Mr. Lang,” called Grace. “We 
might as well go out. It will be wise not to let 
the child enter here again.” 

“I’ll be with you in a few minutes,” answered 
the guide, who, some few yards from them, was 
examining the rocks with the aid of matches, 
and picking at them with his clasp-knife. It 
was half an hour later, however, when Hi Lang 
sprang through the waterfall and waded to the 
bank of the stream. 

Bud Thomas’s companions were saddling up 
the ponies of their captives that they had 
rounded up on the other side of the mountain, 
preparatory to taking the men to the county 
seat, a surly, silent bunch of desert pirates who 
were destined not to ply their trade for some 
years to come. 

Hi Lang called the Overlanders aside, Elfreda 
emerging from her tent to join them, leading 
Lindy by the hand. The girls observed that 


250 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


the wild little mountain child clung to Elfreda 
as if fearing she would get away from her. 

‘‘Come over by the stream and sit down,’’ 
requested Hi. “I have something important to 
say to you. ’ ’ 

The Overland Riders seated themselves and 
gazed expectantly at the guide. 

“Perhaps some of you already have surmised 
w^hat I am going to say,” began Hi Lang. 
“Folks, Steve Carver wasn’t so crazy after all. 
That is, if he knew what he had, and I reckon he 
did, the way he tried to drive us off, even if he 
had to kill us. ’ ’ 

“You — you mean that he had really discov- 
ered a mine 1 ’ ’ questioned Grace. 

“Yes. Folks, there’s silver in there in the 
cave. There may be much or little, I don’t 
know, but it is my idea that there is a bunch of 
it. The arrow that shoots the circle on the map, 
and in the cave especially, points straight to a 
vein of almost pure silver. Here’s a spoonful 
that I gouged out with my knife. Look at it ! ” 

Exclamations of amazement escaped the lips 
of the Overland Riders as the sample of silver 
was passed from hand to hand. 

“It’s yours, folks, unless the claim has been 
registered by Steve Carver or some one else, 
which I don’t believe you will find to be the case. 
Steve was too scary that some one would get the 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 251 


mine away from him. He wouldn’t dare file his 
claim for that reason. Now what do you reckon 
on doing about it?” 

‘^A silver mine! Hooray! We’re rich!” 
cried Emma Dean. 

‘‘No!” objected Grace Harlowe with em- 
phasis. “The mine does not belong to us. 
Provided that the records are clear for this 
particular claim, and that no one owns it, the 
property rightfully should go to Lindy Carver.” 

EKreda Briggs and the guide nodded. 

“Oh, fiddlesticks!” pouted Emma. “You 
raise me to the skies, then you throw me down 
and I land with such a bump that it jars my en- 
tire anatomy.” 

“Of course we do not desire the stuff,” 
agreed Hippy. “Come! You’re a lawyer, El- 
freda. Give us the benefit of your legal advice 
on this silver discovery.” 

“I have been thinking,” said Miss Briggs in 
a reflective tone. “I am going to Amargosa 
with Bud and the boys this morning. I will 
start an inquiry there to find out, if possible, if 
she has relatives, and even if she has and they 
are not what they should be, in view of this new 
development I do not feel that we should turn 
her over to them. ’ ’ 

“Do you still think we should try to adopt 
her?” asked Anne. 


252 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


‘^Upon reflection, I am inclined to believe 
that adoption at this time, either by the organi- 
zation or by one of us individually, even if the 
laws of Nevada permit, might not be advisable 
for several reasons,’^ replied Elfreda. pro- 
pose, therefore, that the Overland Riders apply 
for appointment as Lindy’s guardians. Later 
on, one of us can adopt her, should it be decided 
that that is the wise thing to do. In the mean- 
time we can manage the mine property, educate 
Lindy and fit her for the position in the world 
which she one day will assume.’^ 

am with you, heart and soul, Elfreda. 
You express the very thought that is in my own 
mind, ’ ^ declared Grace. ‘ ‘ Lindy dear ! W ould 
you like to be our daughter and have five little 
mothers to look after you? If so. Miss Briggs 
will take you with her to-day and buy you nice 
clothes and a new doll. We will all try to make 
you very, very happy.’’ 

Lindy stared from one to the other of the 
smiling faces before her, blinked, then suddenly 
buried her head in Miss Briggs’ lap and burst 
into tears, but whether they were tears of joy 
or gratefulness, or because of the sudden recol- 
lection of her sorrow, the Overland girls did not 
know. They were not far from tears them- 
selves as they looked at the neglected, ragged, 
pathetic little figure before them. 


GEEAT AMEEICAN DESEET 253 


‘‘The cowboys are about ready. Come, 
Lindy,’’ urged Elfreda in a brisk tone, rising 
and extending her band to the child. 

With the “mystery map’’ in her possession, 
Lindy on the pony with her, Elfreda and the 
cowboys soon were mounted and ready for the 
start for Amargosa. Hi Lang, at the request 
of the Overland party, accompanied her, though 
it was thought advisable not to acquaint Bud 
and his friends with the fact that a silver mine 
had been discovered. The party rode away 
amid the enthusiastic cheers of the Overlanders, 
answered by the yells of the cowboys. 

The return of Miss Briggs, the guide and 
Lindy had been looked forward to eagerly, and 
when, on the afternoon of the third day, the trio 
rode into the Overland camp, a shout of wel- 
come greeted them. The girls were amazed at 
the change that clothes had wrought in Lindy. 
Her face was radiant as she rode in on the pony 
behind Elfreda ’s saddle, proudly holding up a 
real doll for her newly found friends to see — a 
doll all pink and white, clad in a dress of such 
variety of colors that Hippy Wingate declared 
it would stop a train. 

Miss Briggs, after the two ponies had been 
led away by Ping, explained that, after seeing 
the desert pirates committed to jail to await 
trial, a trial that ultimately resulted in their be- 


254 GRACE HARLOWE ON THE 


ing sentenced to long terms in prison, she had 
made inquiries by wire about Steve Carver and 
his family connections. The authorities at 
Tonapah had informed her that Carver had left 
there three years previously with his young 
daughter ; and that, so far as known, there were 
no relatives. There was no record. Miss Briggs 
said, of a claim having been filed by any person 
for the silver mine. 

^‘That is good news,’’ spoke up Grace, smil- 
ing happily. 

‘ ‘ Mr. Lang has been of great assistance to me 
in clearing up these matters,” continued El- 
freda. ^^The claim to the mine I have filed in 
the name of Lindy Carver, and the Court has 
appointed the Overland Riders as her lawful 
guardians.” 

Perhaps Mr. Lang will consent to take 
charge of the claim for us in Lindy ’s behalf,” 
suggested Grace. 

sure will,” promised Hi. 

‘‘And so,” concluded Elfreda, “‘Little Sil- 
ver’ now belongs to us. One day either myself 
or the outfit may adopt her. What next? ’ ’ 

“Home, Elfreda! Home, and get ‘Little Sil- 
ver,’ as you call her — ^which, by the way, is a 
very sweet nickname — in school as soon as pos- 
sible. To-night we pack. To-morrow we bid 
farewell to desert and mountain, with a thank- 


GREAT AMERICAN DESERT 255 


fulness in our hearts, I know, that we have been 
able to accomplish something beyond the mere 
enjoyment of ourselves on a summer ^s outing,’^ 
declared Grace Harlowe impressively. 

*‘Alors! Let’s go,” urged J. Elfreda. 

‘‘The Chinaman is already on the way,” 
chuckled Lieutenant Wingate as Ping Wing’s 
voice was heard in song, and these were the 
words of the song that brought a shout of 
laughter from the happy Overlanders : 

“Supposey you makee listen to my singee one 
piecee sing. 

Me makee he first-chop fashion about t’he 
glate (great) Ping Wing; 

He blavest man in Desert side, or any side 
about ; 

Me bettee you five dolla’, hai! he blavest party 
out. ’ ’ 

A following volume, entitled “Geace Hak- 
LOWE ’s OvEELAND RiDEES AmONG THE KENTUCKY 
Mountaineees, ” will relate the story of Grace 
and her friends in their never-to-be-forgotten 
experiences among the feudists of the rugged 
ranges of the Kentucky hills. 


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IN NEW MEXICO ; Or, The End of the Silrer Trail.— 7 THE PONY 
RIDER BOYS IN THE GRAND CANYON; Or, The Mystery of 
Bright Angel Gulch. 

Cloth, Illustrated Price, per Volume, $1.00 


The Boys of Steel Series 

By JAMES R. MEARS 

Each book presents vivid picture of this great Industry. Each story 
is full of adventure and fascination. 

1 THE IRON BOYS IN THE MINES; Or, Starting at the Bottom of 
the Shaft.— 2 THE IRON BOYS AS FOREMEN; Or, Heading the 
Diamond Drill Shift.— 3 THE IRON BOYS ON THE ORE BOATS: 
Or, Roughing It on the Great Lakes.— 4 THE IRON BOYS IN THE 
STEEL MILLS; Or, Beginning Anew in the Cinder Pita. 

Cloth, Illustrated Price, per Volume, $1.00 


The Madge Morton Books 

By AMY D. V. CHALMERS 

1 MADGE MORTON— CAPTAIN OF THE MERRY MAID. 

S MADGE MORTON’S SECRET. 

3 MADGE MORTON'S TRUST. 

4 MADGE MORTON’S VICTORY. 

Cloth, Illustrated 


Price, per Volume, $1.00 


West Point Series 

By H. mVING HANCOCK 

The principal characters in these narratives are manly, young 
Americans whose doings will inspire all boy readers. 

2 DICK PRESCOTT’S FIRST YEAR AT WEST POINT; Or, 
Two Chums in the Cadet Gray. 

2 DICK PRESCOTT’S SECOND YEAR AT WEST POINT; Ox, 

Finding the Glory of the Soldier's Life. 

3 DICK PRESCOTT’S THIRD YEAR AT WEST POINT; Or, 

Standing Firm for Flag and Honor. 

4 DICK PRESCOTT’S FOURTH YEAR AT WEST POINT ; Or, 

Ready to Drop the Gray for Shoulder Straps. 

Ooth, Illustrated Price, per Volume, $1.00 


Annapolis Series 

By H. IRVING HANCOCK 

The Spirit of the new Navy is delightfully and truthfully depicted 
in these volumes. 

2 DAVE DARRIN’S FIRST YEAR AT ANNAPOLIS ; Or, Two 
Plebe Midshipmen at the U. S. Naval Academy. 

2 DAVE DARRIN’S SECOND YEAR AT ANNAPOLIS; Or. 

Two Midshipmen as Naval Academy “Youngsters.” 

3 DAVE DARRIN'S THIRD YEAR AT ANNAPOLIS ; Or, Lead- 

ers of the Second Class Midshipmen. 

4 DAVE DARRIN’S FOURTH YEAR AT ANNAPOLIS; Or, 

Headed for Graduation and the Big Cruise. 

Qoth, Illustrated Price, per Volume, $1.00 


The Young Engineers Series 

By H. IRVING HANCOCK 

The heroes of these stories are known to readers of the High 
School Boys Series. In this new series Tom Readc and Harry 
Hazelton prove worthy of all the traditions of Dick & Co. 

2 THE YOUNG ENGINEERS IN COLORADO ; Or, At Railroad 
Building in Earnest. 

2 THE YOUNG ENGINEERS IN ARIZONA ; Or, Laying Tracks 

on the “Man-Killer” Quicksand. 

3 THE YOUNG ENGINEERS IN NEVADA; Or, Seeking For- 

tune on the Turn of a Pick. 

4 THE YOUNG ENGINEERS IN MEXICO; Or, Fighting the 
< Mine Swindlers. 

Qoth, Illustrated Price, per Volume, $1.00 


Boys of the Army Series 

By H. IRVING HANCOCK 

These books breathe the life and spirit of the United States 
Army of to-day, and the life, just as it is, is described by a mas- 
ter pen. 

1 UNCLE SAM’S BOYS IN THE RANKS ; Or, Two Recruits 

in the United States Army. 

2 UNCLE SAM’S BOYS ON FIELD DUTY; Or, Winning 

Corporal’s Chevrons. 

3 UNCLE SAM’S BOYS AS SERGEANTS; Or, Handling 

Their First Real Commands. 

4 UNCLE SAM’S BOYS IN THE PHILIPPINES; Or, Fol- 

lowing the Flag Against the Moros. 

6 UNCLE SAM’S BOYS AS LIEUTENANTS; Or, Serving 

Old Glory as Line Officers. 

7 UNCLE SAM’S BOYS WITH PERSHING; Or, Dick Pres- 

cott at Grips with the Boche. 

8 UNCLE SAM’S BOYS SMASH THE GERMANS; Or, Wind- 

ing Up the Great War. 


Dave Darrin Series 

By H. IRVING HANCOCK 

1 DAVE DARRIN AT VERA CRUZ; Or, Fighting With the 

U. S. Navy in Mexico. 

2 DAVE DARRIN ON MEDITERRANEAN SERVIUE. 

3 DAVE DARRIN’S SOUTH AMERICAN CRUISE. 

4 DAVE DARRIN ON THE ASIATIC STATION. 

5 DAVE DARRIN AND THE GERMAN SUBMARINES. 

6 DAVE DARRIN AFTER THE MINE LAYERS; Or, Hit- 

ting the Enemy a Hard Naval Blow. 


The Meadow-Brook Girls Series 

By JANET ALDRIDGE 

1 THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS UNDER CANVAS. 

2 THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS ACROSS COUNTRY. 

3 THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS AFLOAT. 

4 THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS IN THE HILLS. 

5 THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS BY THE SEA. 

6 THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS ON THE TENNIS 

COURTS. 


All these books are bound in Cloth and will be sent post- 
paid on receipt of only . $1.00 each. 


High School Boys Series 

By H. IRVING HANCOCK 

In this series of bright, crisp books a new note has been struck. 
Boys of every age under sixty will be interested in these fascinat- 
ing volumes. 

1 iTHE HIGH SCHOOL FRESHMEN; Or, Dick & Co.’s First 

Year Pranks and Sports. 

2 THE HIGH SCHOOL PITCHER; Or, Dick & Co. on the 

Gridley Diamond. 

3 THE HIGH SCHOOL LEFT END ; Or, Dick & Co. Grilling on 

the Football Gridiron. 

4 THE HIGH SCHOOL CAPTAIN OF THE TEAM; Or, Dick & 

Co. Leading the Athletic .Vanguard. 

Cloth, Illustrated Price, per Volume, $1.00 


Grammar School Boys Series 

By H. IKVING HANCOCK 

This series of stories, "based on the actual doings of grammat 
school boys, comes near to the heart of the average American boy. 

1 THE GRAMMAR^ SCHOOL BOYS OF GRIDLEY ; Or, Dick 

Sc. Co. Start Things Moving. 

2 THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL BOYS SNOWBOUND; Or, Dick 

& Co. at Winter Sports. 

3 THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL BOYS IN THE WOODS; Or, 

Dick & Co. Trail Fun and Knowledge. 

4 .THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL BOYS IN SUMMER ATHLETICS ; 

Or, Dick & Co, Make Their Fame Secure. 

Cloth, Illustrated Price, per Volume, $1.00 

HighSchooiBoys’ V acation Series 

By H. IRVING HANCOCK 
‘‘Give us more Dick '*^rescott books !” 

This has been the burden of the cry from young readers of the 
country over. Almost numberless letters have been received by the 
publishers, making this eager demand ; for Dick Prescott, Dave Dar- 
rin, Tom Reada, and the other members of Dick & Co. are the most 
popular high r-chool boys in the land. Boys will alternately thrill 
and chuckle when reading these splendid narratives. 

1 THE HTCri SCHOOL BOYS’ CANOE CLUB ; Or, Dick & Co.’s 

Rivals on Lake Pleasant. 

2 THE HIGH SCHOOL BOYS IN SUMMER CAMP; Or, The 

Dick Prescott Six Training f-r the Gridley Eleven. 

3 THE HIGH SCHOOL BOYS’ FISHING TRIP; Or, Dick & Co. 

in the Wilderness. , „ 

4 THE HIGH SCHOOL BOYS’ TRAINING HIKE; Or, Dick & 

Co. Making Themselves “Hard as Nails.” 

Qoth, Illustrated Price, per Volume, $1.00 


The Circus Boys Series 

By EDGAR B. P. DARLINGTON 

Mr. Darlington’s books breathe forth every phase of an intensely 
interesting and exciting life. 

1 THE CIRCUS BOYS ON THE FLYING RINGS; Or, Making 

the Start in the Sawdust Life. 

2 THE CIRCUS BOYS ACROSS THE CONTINENT; Or, Win- 

ning New Laurels on the Tanbark. 

3 THE CIRCUS BOYS IN DIXIE LAND; Or, Winning the 

Plaudits of the Sunny South. 

4 THE CIRCUS BOYS ON THE MISSISSIPPI; Or, Afloat with 

the Big Show on the Big River. 

Qoth, Illustrated Price, per Volume, $1.00 


The High School Girls Series 

By JESSIE GRAHAM FLOWER, A. M. 

These breezy stories of the American High School Girl take the 
reader fairly by storm. 

X GRACE HARLOWE’S PLEBE YEAR AT HIGH SCHOOL; 
Or, The Merry Doings of the Oakdale Freshman Girls. 

2 GRACE HARLOWE'S SOPHOMORE YEAR AT HIGH 

SCHOOL; Or, The Record of the Girl Chums in Work and 
Athletics. 

3 GRACE HARLOWE’S JUNIOR YEAR AT HIGH SCHOOL; 

Or, Fast Friends in the Sororities. 

4 GRACE HARLOWE’S SENIOR YEAR AT HIGH SCHOOL; 

Or, The Parting of the Ways. 

Qoth, Illustrated Price, per Volume, $1.00 


The Automobile Girls Series 

By LAURA DENT CRANE 

No girl’s library — no family book-case can be' considered at all 
complete unless it contains these sparkling twentieth-century books. 
ITHE AUTOMOBILE GIRLS AT NEWPORT; Or, Watching the Sum- 
mer Parade.— 2 THE AUTOMOBILE GIRLS IN THE BERKSHIRES; 
Or, The Ghost of Lost Man’s Trail.— 3 THE AUTOMOBILE GIRLS 
ALONG THE HUDSON; Or, Fighting Fire in Sleepy Hollow. — 
4 THE AUTOMOBILE GIRLS AT CHICAGO; Or, Winning Out 
Against Heavy Odds.— 5 THE AUTOMOBILE GIRLS AT PALM 
BEACH; Or, Proving Their Mettle Under Southern Skies.— 6 THE 
AUTOMOBILE GIRLS AT WASHINGTON; Or, Checkmating tha 
Plots of Foreign Spies. 

Cloth, Illustrated 


Price, per Volume, $1.00 


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